A former auto-body shop, flanked by a railway line and a supermarket parking lot, provided the basis for a highly original home with an artistic and ecological sensibility.
Turning this industrial garage into a home was an attractive prospect, with its footprint, open floor plate, high ceilings and expansive windows and doors. But there were also challenges including cleaning up its contaminated soil and finding ways to create ideal spaces for living within an industrial context.
We designed the interior plan to strategically shut out the auditory and visual noise of the city by nestling bedrooms into one corner. Skylights and “sun tunnels” draw natural light into areas where there are no external windows. We raised the bedrooms and bathrooms on a platform, creating domestic ceiling heights as well as much-needed storage underneath. By contrast, the kitchen, dining and living rooms, forming an “L” around the perimeter, are bathed in sunlight and feature strategic views of the gardens through oversized windows that were once the garage doors. A second storey addition creates a large open studio space for artistic work and musical jam sessions, and a roof garden creates the impression that the house is floating in a field while also stabilizing the temperature and air quality of the house.
