Located in Toronto, the Bedford Park House embodies an architectual hat trick: it's smart from a technological standpoint, it's energy efficient, and it's designed so the residents, a doctor and his wife, can age in place. Architect Alex Tedesco, a senior partner at LGA Architectural Partners, created a thoughtful design grounded in the advanced building science and that embodies the principles of modernism. The facade is clad in Rum Raison Velour brick by Belden with Douglas fir accents.
Exterior benches made of local stone establish a relationship between the building and the surrounding landscape, as does the Dark Ironspot Velour Modular Brick from Endicott Clay used on the facade. The design team, led by Deborah Berke, achieved an open, inviting feel through skylights, light monitors, large windows and an interior courtyard.
The residence is set back a few feet from the site’s edge, allowing more light to flood into neighbors’ windows and leaving space for trees. “The idea was to make a strong gesture to incorporate ideas
of openness,” Lynch explains. “It’s not just a box if you look at it closely. It’s a series of planes that fit together."
Karen White, David MacNaughtan, and their sons, Griffin and Finlay, hang out on the front deckof their narrow home in Toronto’s leafy Roncesvalles neighborhood. A narrow modernist composition of glass panes and purple brick, the house slips like a bookmark between two older buildings, a bright three-story abode on a lot narrower than most suburban driveways. Photo by Dean Kaufman. Read more about the small house here.
“Before, the house turned its back on the landscape,” said Parish. “This renovation and addition really animates the garden.” Sliding glass doors match those of the living room beyond the deck, and both can be completely open to the yard.
In the backyard, Kunigk “montaged” what she admired in the work of John Pawson, Tadao Ando, and Piet Oudolf, the Dutch garden designer who collaborated on landscaping for New York’s High Line. She plans to reconfigure the plantings again with the landscape designer Rina Zweig, who worked on the front yard.
Stephen Waddell and Isabel Kunigk worked with architect D’Arcy Jones to breathe new life into their “dank old” structure. The couple chose to sacrifice square footage inside in order to make the most of outdoor space.
“I simply was drawn to the notion of concrete. So much great modern architecture has made use of it,” Blauvelt says.
The Rod XL sofa by Piero Lissoni for Living Divani joins custom nesting tables, also designed by Di Stefano and Bongiorni and fabricated by Motta, in the refreshed living room.
The kitchen counters and islands reflect a relatively simple material palette.
Custom Treefrog wood cabinets and quartz countertops outfit the kitchen, where a granite island with a built-in butcher block transitions into bar seating. Benson Pendants by Restoration Hardware hang above. Another frosted glass barn door leads to a walk-in pantry.