“‘This house doesn’t belong here.’ That’s what they told us,” says Enzo Mancuso, recounting the hard-fought battle that he and his wife, Erminia, along with architects Jodi and Andrew Batay-Csorba, waged to build their home in Toronto’s High Park neighborhood. The cause of the neighbors’ consternation? An unfortunate, but not incurable, case of NIMBYism.

Specifically, they protested the two-story residence’s untraditional brick facade. But despite its boldly modern presentation, the house has decidedly vernacular DNA. High Park today hosts a mix of housing styles, but it remains filled with Victorian, Tudor, and Edwardian homes—nearly all of them made of brick. “Toronto is a huge brick city,” explains Andrew Batay-Csorba. “One of the neat things about this project is how we interpreted that history in the facade.”

Inside, the 2,400-square-foot house continues to meld old architectural styles with modern interventions. The barrel-vaulted ceiling that runs the length of the first floor—where the kitchen and living areas are located—echoes Roman architecture found in Enzo’s native Italy, but the architects cut double-height light wells to alleviate the dimness that can darken long and narrow buildings in which side windows are generally discouraged. And, as in classical Roman edifices, the walls are white, although the look was accomplished through paint rather than marble.

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After three years of design and debate, Erminia and Enzo moved into their home in the summer of 2019. In winter, says Jodi Batay-Csorba, snow piles on the protruding bricks, creating a patterned shell that contrasts nicely with the home’s otherwise monolithic appearance. And the neighbors seem to have come around. “I get stopped outside all the time now by people who say, ‘Your house is so different, but it’s so beautiful.’ It’s a rewarding feeling,” says Enzo.

Project Credits:

Architecture: Batay-Csorba Architects / @batay_csorba_architects

General Contracting: Concepts by Di Noto Inc.

Structural Engineering: Exsen Engineering

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A Toronto Residence Reinterprets the City’s History With a Standout Facade