When Robert Burley and Debra Friedman needed more space, they found it in their own backyard. The couple’s house in Toronto’s Danforth neighborhood had suited their family of five. But in 2019, Robert and Debra, both professional photographers, decided it was time to add a home studio. They started eyeing the parking pad behind their house, past a mature smoke tree and Debra’s clusters of perennials. The concrete patch opened onto a midblock laneway, and they concluded that it would be much better used as a workplace than a parking space. They enlisted their friend Janna Levitt and her firm, LGA Architectural Partners, to plan a two-story building for the site with a studio downstairs and a rental apartment above.

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In the finished building, a simple envelope of black standing-seam metal covers an interior that’s designed to the inch. On the laneway, a bright yellow door provides access to the ground-floor studio, shared by Robert and Debra. Meanwhile, a blue door opens onto a private staircase to the upstairs apartment. “The bright colors make sure that nobody ends up in the wrong place,” says Debra, who uses the studio for portrait shoots.

A separate entrance for the unit ensures privacy for Robert and Debra, as well as their tenants. The charred wood siding is from Blackwood Siding, while the standing-seam metal cladding is from Agway Metals, installed by Novak Cladding." layout="" credit="Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott" photoUserId="6133438315652468736"/>

Upstairs a couple currently share the 675-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment. The bedroom, a galley kitchen, and a den all have windows looking east to Robert and Debra’s backyard—though the glass is partially frosted, allowing ample light but protecting the neighbors’ privacy.

The architects chose only a few materials, including epoxy flooring, to provide a sense of spaciousness. Customized Ikea cabinetry and small European-style appliances make the kitchen highly functional. A living/dining room looks out over the laneway, allowing the residents to wave at passersby walking their dogs.

Blomberg refrigerator. The range hood is from AEG, and the counters from Caesarstone. " layout="wide" credit="Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott" photoUserId="6133438315652468736"/>

There will soon be more people walking by: Two other laneway houses were recently completed on the block. These reflect a new understanding that Toronto’s alleys can be places to live. “Initially, the lanes were for horse stables,” Robert says, “and they’ve been shifted over to cars. But if you look at the size of most garages and how that space is used, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Today, space is at a premium.”

“If you look at the size of most garages and how that space is used, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
—Robert Burley, resident

Levitt and her business and life partner, Dean Goodman, were ahead of the curve. In 1989, the architects developed their own house on a laneway in downtown Toronto—after battling to convince city planners that this was a good idea. Living in a lane, “you felt kind of immunized from the city,” Levitt says. “You could feel freer, in a way: You were in a kind of liminal space that was really nice.”

That idea has become mainstream. In 2018, Toronto legalized laneway houses, and more than 200 are now in the works. Planners hope they’ll bring people into areas like the Danforth, which are increasingly out of reach to new arrivals.

Those include the tenants in Robert and Debra’s laneway apartment, who “are really into activating it as much as they can,” Debra says. On Halloween, the renters welcome kids to trick or treat. Someday, one of Robert and Debra’s three kids could occupy that apartment; another could occupy a portion of the main house, which the couple renovated so that the whole structure could be easily converted into a duplex.

“It should be quite easy to support at least three families in this property,” Robert says. “And I think that’s what will continue to happen. In urban neighborhoods, people are going to start to say, ‘We need to put more people in our existing space.’” For now, Robert and Debra are enjoying their work space, which provides room for a bar or even sit-down dinners when company comes over. Already, the laneway is coming to life.

Project Credits:

Architecture: LGA Architectural Partners

Construction: Vanderwal Builds

Civil Engineering: Fabian Papa and Partners

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