Existing Building

The mandate at the outset of the project called for a complete façade renewal of an existing stucco house, the redesign of several interior spaces, and a renovation to a private, rear garden. The clients, an artist and an aesthetician, wanted a façade that responded to their two home-based businesses, while speaking of their creativity and respecting their very modest budget.

Initial Design Approaches

Design Challenge: with only one-third of the budget attributed to the façade renewal, the challenge was to get the most out of inexpensive materials.

Design Solution: coloured asphalt siding joined by thin, metal seams was proposed to replace the aging stucco. The use of metal, a more expensive material used sparingly, yet strategically, gave the façade a delicate aesthetic. This careful detailing of the common asphalt allowed the façade to be appreciated as a cohesive, elegant whole.

At this point in the project, a cost estimate was prepared by a reputable general contractor. The estimate indicated that the budget, though small, could be achieved by the proposed design. The clients reviewed the estimate and expanded the scope of work they wished to undertake.

Façade Alternatives

Design Challenge: the clients wished to explore alternative, low-cost materials for their façade. The design challenge, however, remained the same: to incorporate everyday materials in unexpected, creative ways as a means to enrich the project while respecting the budget.

Design Solution: to use new coloured stucco as a surface into which the client, being a well-known local artist, would carve a large mural to feature his work. The façade was to become a giant canvass and, essentially, a billboard for the art studio within.

Prioritizing the Façade

Design Challenge: the clients discovered, and wanted to incorporate into their façade, a beautiful, albeit expensive, living-wall system. Consequently, the clients decided to allocate a larger percentage of their budget to the exterior of their home and forego most of the interior renovation.

Design Solution: akin to the initial design proposals, the strategy was to juxtapose the living-wall system with a less-expensive exterior finish, such as stucco. Again, thin, metal seams were proposed to join two dissimilar materials.

Focusing on Exterior Materials

Design Challenge: it became a priority of the clients to make a significant investment in their façade to reflect increasing local real-estate values. The clients requested the use of “solid, zero-maintenance materials”, while still incorporating the living-wall system.

Design Solution: to contrast the ephemerality of the living-wall panels, both stone and concrete panels were proposed. Two alternate design proposals were undertaken (in model form).

New Roof-Top Studio Addition

Design Challenge: the clients, in making a yet more significant investment, decided to relocate the existing ground-floor art studio to a new enclosure built upon the existing roof. The architectural challenge was to create an addition that complimented the existing, turn-of-the-century building, while providing both visual and sound privacy and also an abundance of diffused light for the creation of art.

Design solution: an addition built entirely of a translucent wall panels. This wall system, which is common in commercial construction, would have offered complete privacy and unlimited diffused, natural light. At night, the roof-top enclosure would have emitted a subtle glow, silhouetting movement within the studio and announcing the presence of the business within the neighbourhood.

The studio addition would have comprised half of the existing rooftop, leaving the remaining space for a private garden.

In the end, the roof-top studio addition was abandoned for offsite rental space.

Final Design Solution

Design Challenge: to align the clients’ desire for a stone and living-façade with a modest budget.

Design solution: the weight of stone would require expensive modifications to the existing framing and foundation. A thin, cultured stone veneer that “clips” to the existing framing was therefore proposed. This system, which would have cost less than full-thickness, real stone, would have cost less to install and would have required no alterations to the existing structure, thereby leaving more money for the living-wall system.

At this point in the project, a cost estimate was prepared by a second, reputable general contractor, which indicated that the budget, though still small, could be achieved by the proposed design.

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