Unique Houses in Toronto

[junctionist]

I find it regrettable that a lot of interesting architectural ideas in the city's vernacular styles of the past have been seemingly forgotten in contemporary design. I'm thinking of features like polychromatic brickwork, terracotta and stone panels, clinker brick, prominent lanterns, and leaded and stained glass. These features can be reimagined to work with contemporary design and to enhance it.

Here's a contemporary house designed by Kevin Weiss that tastefully incorporated polychromatic brickwork into a modern design language:

11 Shudell Avenue


Photo by Scott Weir on Flickr

This project also has solid urbanist credentials by incorporating a laneway house at the back. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a photo of the laneway house. But it's an excellent contribution to the city's built form overall. Here's to hoping that we see more interesting features like polychromatic brickwork tastefully incorporated into contemporary buildings in the future.

 

[mk39920]

The Henry Fliess house is temporarily off the market, according to Ecko Jay. Not sure why.

Here's a video of the house and property:

Sadly it's being ruined with the laziest stucco job i've seen in a long time... the interior has been ruined too.

 

[Northern Light]

Sadly it's being ruined with the laziest stucco job i've seen in a long time... the interior has been ruined too.View attachment 408795

AT the risk of an unpopular opinion, I'm not overly taken w/the original design here..........but I nonetheless could agree wholeheartedly that this is not an improvement in anyway, shape or form.

 

[Northern Light]

I find it regrettable that a lot of interesting architectural ideas in the city's vernacular styles of the past have been seemingly forgotten in contemporary design. I'm thinking of features like polychromatic brickwork, terracotta and stone panels, clinker brick, prominent lanterns, and leaded and stained glass. These features can be reimagined to work with contemporary design and to enhance it.

Here's a contemporary house designed by Kevin Weiss that tastefully incorporated polychromatic brickwork into a modern design language:

11 Shudell Avenue


Photo by Scott Weir on Flickr

This project also has solid urbanist credentials by incorporating a laneway house at the back. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a photo of the laneway house. But it's an excellent contribution to the city's built form overall. Here's to hoping that we see more interesting features like polychromatic brickwork tastefully incorporated into contemporary buildings in the future.

@junctionist ; I greatly enjoy your contributions!

I also appreciate anyone who can use polychromatic in a sentence correctly!

 

[junctionist]

@junctionist ; I greatly enjoy your contributions!

I also appreciate anyone who can use polychromatic in a sentence correctly!

Thanks I always enjoy your posts as well, especially the ones about parks and landscaping.

It's amazing how time has passed since I started this thread in 2008. Some of the image links from 2008 no longer work, and I've been slowly replacing them. Fortunately, @Archivist's excellent resource, TOBuilt, was saved and incorporated into the ACO's website. It makes things easier.

Unfortunately, some of these houses have been poorly renovated since then. Others have been meticulously maintained. It's also interesting how ubiquitous the rectilinear Neo Modern house has become since the 2000s among infill and new builds in older neighbourhoods. Almost every Neo Modern house was considered unique in the 2000s.

 

[DavidJamesTO]

The house on Ellis Park Road mentioned in this thread a million years ago is up for sale again. Anyone got a spare five mil?

This Property Has Been Sold! 168 Ellis Park Road - 168 Ellis Park Rd

SOLD 4 BEDROOMS 4 BATHROOMS 4,259 TOTAL SQ FT (4,036 SQ FT ABOVE GRADE) West Coast To The Most California dreaming? Wake up Toronto! This 4250+ square ft jaw dropper looks over High Park and right into your soul. Designed by

168ellisparkrd.com

Not sure how I feel about the literally ensuite bath.

 

[lenaitch]

Not a Toronto house, but a house of a Torontonian.

Want to live in a ‘covered bridge’? Toronto family’s unique vacation home up for $22.5 million

A Vermont vacation home belonging to former Bay Street maverick Jim Connacher and designed by a Toronto architect is literally a bridge to the past.

www.thestar.com

 

[junctionist]

The house on Ellis Park Road mentioned in this thread a million years ago is up for sale again. Anyone got a spare five mil?

This Property Has Been Sold! 168 Ellis Park Road - 168 Ellis Park Rd

SOLD 4 BEDROOMS 4 BATHROOMS 4,259 TOTAL SQ FT (4,036 SQ FT ABOVE GRADE) West Coast To The Most California dreaming? Wake up Toronto! This 4250+ square ft jaw dropper looks over High Park and right into your soul. Designed by

168ellisparkrd.com

Not sure how I feel about the literally ensuite bath.

The rustic yet Neo Modern character is quite interesting. It evokes a cottage on the inside, which works beautifully in its context near a naturalized part of High Park. It's a fascinatingly designed house that transcends a mere desire to show off wealth.

 

[Goldie]

A couple of unique homes, hidden away on an obscure street in the Riverdale neighbourhood.

 

[christiesplits]

A couple of unique homes, hidden away on an obscure street in the Riverdale neighbourhood.
View attachment 424380

Cute. What street?

 

[Goldie]

Since I used the term, "hidden away," I'll protect their privacy.

 

[junctionist]

Postmodernism isn't in fashion among architectural homes at the present time, but I found a fascinating reconstructed bungalow in a Postmodern style for sale in Etobicoke that's full of design character. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information about it online, but the design is quite unique.

28 Rothsay Avenue


Photo from the listing on HouseSigma.ca

The house puts its Queen Anne influences on full display with a striking corner tower and a prominent attic. However, the fenestration and geometry depart from a pure historicist approach to be more playful and contemporary. The alternating stone/precast and brick bands (which continue all the way up to the chimney) give it added boldness and character. The prominent entrance, located just a few steps from the sidewalk, is tastefully metropolitan.

Impressively, the owner rejected a built-in garage, which would have likely compromised the traditional massing. There is a separate garage. The interior isn't as interesting as the exterior, but it eschews the current trend of minimalist white-and-brown interiors with decorative exposed brick and with a deconstructivist touch, exposed wood framing:


Photo from the listing on HouseSigma.ca

It's currently listed for $3,149,000, which may be a difficult sell for the area. However, its owner clearly cared about contributing an architecturally engaging house to the built form of the neighbourhood and city, making Rothsay Avenue a more interesting and memorable street in the process. Hopefully, it finds a loving new owner.