40_R Laneway House by superkül inc in Ontario, Canada
May 16th, 2009 - Posted in Architecture Design
This house was designed by superkül inc located in Ontario, Canada. The conversion of an industrial shed to a single family home in midtown Toronto makes a case for a strategic approach to urban sustainability and revitalization, additional density in the City’s laneways, and smaller footprint living.
Beginning its life as a blacksmith’s shop serving the railway in the early 1880s, the original building at No. 40R remained in industrial service for over 120 years – ? rst as a smithy, then a horse shed, and most recently as a sculptor’s studio. This succession of use was registered in the shed’s quilted skin of rusted steel panels, insul-brick, barn-board and plywood.
The current owners, interested in smaller footprint living, bought the shed to convert it to a single family home. The strategy was to selectively rebuild it to provide the amenities of ‘home’ – outdoor space, daylighting, and well con?gured living space – while retaining as much of its existing character as possible.
The conversion was an exercise in the careful calibration of space in zero-tolerance conditions. The 18ft x 40ft lot is reduced at grade to 10ft x 38ft by a right of way; the shed sits on the property line on the two remaining sides. As a result there was no usable outdoor space at grade, and zoning wouldn’t allow for any additional openings in the exterior walls.
Architects: superkül inc
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Principals: Andre D’Elia and Meg Graham
Project Architect: Drew Sinclair
Construction Manager: Boszko and Verity Inc
Structural Engineer: Robert E. Brown Associates
Mechanical Engineer: GPY + Associates Engineering Inc
Constructed Area: 75 sqm
Year: 2008
Photographs: Tom Arban Photography / Lorne Bridgman
May 16th, 2009 at 9:59 am
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