The Canadian architecture firm Partisans is known for bold, dramatic curves—and they’ve made their biggest wave yet at the Fold House, a sculptural pavilion with a sweeping roof that pushes the boundaries of compression-bent wood.

The project is a surprising addition to the historic grounds of an early 19th-century manor on the edge of an escarpment. The site is subject to strict heritage and environmental regulations that required careful planning by the architects and an open mind from the client, food-and-beverage venture investor Scott Friedmann, who purchased the property in 2014 as an antidote to city living for his family of five.

Located in Southern Ontario, the estate includes a Georgian Revival Mansion, a four-story tower, a solarium, a coach house, a barn, and expansive landscaping with lawns, orchards, and perennial gardens. A historic guesthouse, home to Canada’s first heated swimming pool, was once part of the grounds—but it was destroyed in a 2017 fire. The loss became an opportunity to rebuild with the help of Partisans.

Taking into account the Niagara Escarpment’s regulations, Partisans co-founders Alex Josephson and Pooya Baktash envisioned “a folly that is born out of the site and opens up to it.”

Regulations constrained the pavilion to the same footprint of the original cottage, so Partisans got creative. “Our team has a knack for working in tough contexts, and we decided to ‘cut’ into the hill and then ‘fold and lift up the ground,’ to seamlessly tuck the pool into the slope,” says the firm.

The architects also made the bold choice to use compression-bent wood—a material typically used for furniture and musical instruments, and rarely on large scale—for the curved interiors and facade. Although Partisans has prototyped table lamps with compression-bent wood, Fold House is their first architectural project that uses the same material and process.

“Building the curved elements was certainly a challenge, but we did it—and the outcome is even better than the renderings,” say the architects. “One of the things we pride ourselves on is that our built works are better than the photorealistic renderings we create to sell them to our clients and authorities. Fold house is no different, and the feeling of being in the completed space makes the professional renderings look simulated!”

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Inside, the form of the flowing structure delineates the large pool and spa on the west end from the guesthouse (with a breezeway) to the east. Whereas the horizontal pool pavilion is embedded into the hillside and sheltered under a green roof, the guesthouse rises above the landscape to form two stacked levels like dominoes.

“All of its walls and millwork are curved, as is much of the furniture, ensuring that one feels sheltered, at ease, and a part of the landscape that changes around you perpetually,” say the architects.

The 338-square-foot Fold House was completed in February 2020 after three years of design and construction, and since then it’s become a welcome escape during the pandemic. Scott has also added an experimental vegetable garden, beehives, and heirloom chickens to the property, which has grown to be largely self-sufficient over time.

Related Reading:

8 Bodacious Homes With Curves for Days

This Wild, Curvaceous Home Is Buried Beneath the Earth

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Partisans / @partisansarchitecture

Builder/ General Contractor: Sunfield Renovations LTD

Structural Engineer: Blackwell Structural Engineers

Landscape Design Company: Heather Bancroft Landscape Architecture

Cabinetry Design/ Installation: Thorncrest Kitchens

Other: Mjolk

Envelope Engineer: RDH