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Residential ArchitectureFeatured Houses

Roxborough House by gh3*

Toronto

By RECORD Editors
Roxbury House Lead.jpg
February 27, 2024

Architects & Firms

Gh3* Architecture
✕
Image in modal.

Location: South Rosedale, Toronto
Project size: 2,690 square feet

Program: Roxborough House, an Edwardian-style dwelling in South Rosedale, Toronto, was recently renovated and expanded to accommodate the family of five residing in it. For architecture firm gh3*, balancing the house’s existing character—subject to Toronto’s stringent heritage conservation districts—and meeting the clients’ wish for a minimalist aesthetic, proved to be the principle design challenge.

Design Solution: The clients asked the architects to maintain the original number of bedrooms and living spaces, but to enhance spatial flow throughout the house. Gh3* achieved this by widening hallways, moving the staircase to a more central location, introducing more daylight, and utilizing full-height flush doors. A rear addition also expands the floor area of the common spaces on the ground floor, as well as the primary suite—one of five bedrooms—above it.

Roxborough House gh3*

Photo © Nicholas Callies & Raymond Chow

Throughout Roxborough House, an emphasis on simplicity prevails—the soapstone kitchen island, the arched ante-room pantry, and the vaulted hallway leading to the primary bedroom all exhibit elemental forms and geometries. A western gallery wall on the ground floor features original leaded windows of differing datums and heights, which have been set into shaped, sculptural niches. This abstract composition is the result of relocating the staircase and recontextualizing the leftover apertures. The rear opens to an intimate garden courtyard, bookended on the far side by a garage that doubles as a studio and social space.

Structure and Materials: Hand-molded brick clads the two-story rear addition and the detached garage, which was built using salvaged joists from the house. In addition to the repurposed windows and joists, the use of hand-molded brick connects the house to the surrounding context.

Additional Information
Completion date: March 2022
Site size: .086 acres
Total construction cost: Withheld
Client/Owner: Withheld

Roxborough House gh3*

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Roxborough House gh3*

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Roxborough House gh3*

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Roxborough House gh3*

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Roxborough House gh3*

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Roxborough House gh3*

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Roxborough House gh3*

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Roxborough House gh3*

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Roxborough House gh3*

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Roxborough House gh3*

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Photos © Nicholas Callies & Raymond Chow

Roxborough House gh3*

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Roxborough House gh3*

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Images courtesy gh3*, click to enlarge

Credits

Architect
gh3*
55 Ossington Ave.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M6J 2Y9
416-915-1791
www.gh3.ca

Project team
Design lead: Pat Hanson
Project Architect: Joel DiGiacomo

Engineers
Structural: DL Engineering

Consultants
HVAC: McCallumHVAC Design

General Contractor
Upside Development

Photographers
Nicholas Callies, Raymond Chow

Specifications

Exterior Cladding
Masonry: Vande Moortle Masonry (moulded clay brick and pavers)

Windows
Wood frame: Fieldstone
Metal frame: Reynaers

Doors
Metal doors: Reynaers
Wood doors: Ezy-Jamb Door Frames
Sliding doors: Reynaers  

Hardware
Pulls: Levers EMTEK Helios Lever
Other special hardware: Tectus (concealed door hinges)

Interior Finishes
Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Kitchen Island Soapstone surfaces and sink
Solid surfacing: Corian and Miccrocement (interior wall designs)
Special surfacing: Microcement (interior wall designs)

Lighting
Downlights: David Groppi (linear LED); Tom Dixon and Ingo Mauer (pendant lights)
Tasklighting: Lamber Fils Waldorf
Exterior: Bega

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KEYWORDS: Canada modern residential architecture Toronto

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