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.

The living room is five steps down from the kitchen and office space and features textured black slate tile from Olympia Tile, Voyage Immobile sofas with Farniente collection upholstery (a wedding present from Flanders’s mother) by Roche Bobois, and a rug from Turkmenistan the couple picked up in Jerusalem. The sliding glass doors are by Loewen and the glazing above is by Inline Fiberglass. Sawatzky relied on Wayne Arsenault for the custom millwork and carpentry.

“The walnut unit between the kitchen and dining room ties into the fumed oak floor,” Dubbeldam says. “The rest of the materials in the house—glass, marble, stone—were selected to offset the wood.”

Architect Alex Gil and his wife, Claudia DeSimio, affixed a 750-square-foot addition to the roof of a 19th-century Williamsburg townhouse, transforming their cramped third-floor apartment into a modern duplex. The original fireplace remains, but has been stripped down to exposed brick, as have the surrounding walls, creating an almost wainscot-like design of exposed brick with flat white drywall above.

“Sustainability is very important to us,” lead architect Heather Dubbeldam says. “It is easy to design with passive systems, to use passive sustainable principles to influence the design and layout of the house.” Her team reduced the need for air conditioning and artificial lighting through carefully positioned doors and windows that draw in natural light and breeze. New insulation, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and low-energy lighting also minimize the homeowners’ dependence on utilities.

A Japanese hinoki bowl and stool from Mjölk sit next to a custom hinoki bathtub by Bartok Design in the tub room.

A third-floor courtyard stands in for a backyard and gives Elodie, the couple’s two-year-old daughter, a place to play outdoors. A Hunting chair by Børge Mogensen shares the space with a child’s chair by Tomii Takashi and a vintage Danish coffee table.

The architects created the illusion of more space by opening up the floor plan, repositioning the staircase and introducing sight lines to the large windows on the south side. Recurring black accents—from the dining room’s Serge Mouille light fixture to its tall bookcases—contrast the brightness of the crisp white walls. Walnut floors and lighter wood furniture like the Klaus Willhelm table and Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs cozy up the home, while colorful objects animate it. “We strongly believe that people do not need more space, they just need better-designed space,” Dubbeldam says.

The majority of windows are on the south facade to optimize solar gain.

Strategic site planning and smart technology help the 3,200-square-foot Great Gulf Active House achieve hyper-efficiency. The Toronto-based architecture firm, superkül, used triple-glazed windows; a solar hot water system; zoned heating; a fully automated HVAC system, skylights, and roller shades; LED lights; and spray foam insulation, among other green strategies.

The kitchen features cabinets from Bulthaup’s B3 line and a hearth made of ironspot brick. Evans and his wife, Susan Wilson, bought the wall clock at Habitat in London.

“I love the master bedroom, with the geometry of the white-painted, angled roof lines and the varying shadows that this creates,” Dubbeldam says. The naturally lit space features built-in shelves and a floating desk that overlooks the street below through a tiny window. An aluminum Eames task chair and a Serge Mouille wall light adorn the space.

Architect Tamira Sawatzky and artist Elle Flanders get an awfully good view of their busy Toronto street from their office and dining room.

The table is by Made, the sneaker-inspired Shoe Toss pendants are by Jeremy Hatch of Ricochet Studio, and the laser-cut photo on the wall is by the couple’s collective art and design practice, Public Studio.

Active systems, in addition to thoughtful orientation and structural planning, help the structure become ultra efficient. The primary heating source throughout the house is radiant flooring connected to a geothermal system. Tedesco specified the Uponor Climate Control Network to operate the systems. "Every heating zone can be scheduled for setback," he says. "Then, through the communication and coordination of zone operation from main control panel that monitors the entire system, equipment and zones are cycled in harmony. The entire climate control system including the geothermal, ERV, A/C, and heat pumps is balanced to maintain optimal performance and occupant comfort. The Lutron Maestro lighting control, home entertainment, and security system can all be monitored and controlled remotely through a web-based program provided by the equipment supplier. The entire system has wireless access points throughout the house to ensure conductivity." The media room sofas are Ikea's Karlstad model, the rug is by Bev Hisey Textile Design, and the pendant is the Caprice by Viso.

Light illuminates the back of the home at night. The Vicenza flamed basalt exterior and floor-to-ceiling windows are a bold counterpoint to the house's more traditional neighbors.

Tedesco's father was a precision machinist and his uncles worked as welders and carpentry framers. As a tribute to his family's history, Tedesco made the blackened-steel-and-wood staircase a focal point—it can be seen from nearly every room in the house.

Bright, white, and airy. This Toronto kitchen features a 13-foot Calacatta marble island, countertops, and a matching backsplash that pair perfectly with the custom white aluminum cabinets.

The team carried the concept of contrast through the exterior, juxtaposing the home’s 125-year-old red brick façade with vertical, black-stained cedar cladding at the back. “We wanted to celebrate the old alongside the new,” Dubbeldam says. Since the house is so well insulated, the extra heat that dark exteriors typically draw doesn’t penetrate beyond the boards’ surface.

In the rear of the house, a new addition extends the living space and adds a roof terrace off the second-floor master bedroom. A garden is accessible through a wall of sliding glass doors with Sapele mahogany frames, set back to control solar gain.

The transformed facade features dark gray stained-masonry.

The duplex’s lower level, formerly a railroad apartment, was conjoined with its neighbor and reconfigured to meet the rooftop addition.

“A building can have far greater impact than the space it stands in.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

The Jorgensen's Menlo Park home is a model of green design with features that are smart for everyone to consider. "Every project is different, but there are some universal things that will apply from project to project," says Feldman about designing a green home. "The first—and most obvious thing—is to always try to build less, to have a smaller house and be smart about how the rooms are designed and oriented so that you can get by with less space. Smart design will lead to a smaller building, but it won't feel smaller."

New zoning allowed for a zero-lot-line structure, but required a public storefront, which Carpenter uses as an art gallery.

In Toronto, Canada, architect Anthony Provenzano renovated a home for a client that was inspired by the acquisition of a piece by artist Rikrit Tiravanija. "It was a project that started when the clients acquired the other side of the semi-detached home they lived in," says Provenzano. "A decade passed after an initial ‘connection’ renovation and when the clients purchased an art piece by Rirkrit Tiravanija, we were contacted, as it precipitated a major architectural renovation at the rear of the house and a landscape intervention centered about the aforementioned art piece." The resulting renovation, shown above, was completed with an eye towards clarifying the structure's connection to the garden.

Darkshadow House Floor Plan A Porch B Dining Room C Kitchen D Living Room E Powder Room F Study G Bathroom H Bedroom I Dressing Room J Terrace

Architect Paul Syme designed custom storage units with dark-stained walnut fronts that provide a place for everything in his clients’ Toronto bathroom. The wall-to-wall mirror and the Corian counter are custom, and the faucets are by Vola.

The original building was designed by Kohn Shnier.

Composed of 220 aluminum "light shelves," the solar reflector screen is the focal point of the front façade. The home takes advantage of its Southern exposure, using the reflector screen to funnel sunlight and warmth deep into the interior space.

A deck is located off the dining area.

The space functions as a showroom for the brand's modern wares. It displays the beloved products Umbra has developed over its 35-year history.

An antique Japanese indigo tapestry hangs by a vintage Danish piano.

Many of the items in the home come from Mjölk, on the ground floor of Daoust and Baker’s building, which dates to the 1870s and has a distinctive tin facade.

Rian and Melissa Jorgensen's 2 Bar House in Menlo Park boasts all the usual green design suspects: energy-efficient lighting, good insulation, renewable material finishes, radiant heat, and the roof is pre-wired for future PV panels. Executed by Feldman Architecture, the house requires only natural lighting during the day which keeps energy costs way down. Still, the most stunning aspect of the green design is the living roof planted with succulents, aloe, viviums, and ice plants. "I'm absolutely glad that we did it," says Melissa. "It turned out so well and I really enjoy sitting up there and taking advantage of it as much as I can. It's very peaceful." Read more about this total remodel here.