Moore Park Residence was designed by Drew Mandel Architects and is located in Toronto, Canada.
Completed in 2013, this infill house has won a 2014 design excellence award from the Ontario Association of Architects.
Moore Park Residence by Drew Mandel Architects:
“This infill house is situated in the mid-town Toronto residential neighborhood of Moore Park. It represents the first tear-down replacement on an established street that is characterized by a common model: 1920s-era single-family homes with mutual drives.
The concept of the project is to integrate a one-off re-development into a typical Toronto streetscape, and to create a slow unfolding experience of a place. The house create a complex figure-ground or mass-to-void relationship. It is structured and animated by light and shadow by a board-formed concrete wall, large light well, transparent partitions, and interconnecting void spaces.
The concrete wall satisfies unprotected opening building code restrictions on the south wall while allowing light to reach deeply into three levels of the house. Many spaces have been designed to have flexibility for a range of uses.
The ground floor millwork detailing allows an extended table for large family gatherings; four desk areas found throughout the house allow for a variety of home office options; the basement is treated as prime, and not secondary space, in order to maximize the use of available space.
The third floor is set back at the front and the rear in order to match existing massing on the street. The landscaping includes three separate areas of living roofs, whilst the third floor terraces offer views of the tree canopy surrounding the neighbourhood.
Integrating the landscape also mitigates the significant storm water management issues associated with the block. The project is designed to accommodate the downspout disconnection program and poor soil through a combination of bubblers, infiltration, retention and evapotranspiration.
“Moore Park is successful because it was designed to fit on the street and relate to neighbouring homes,” said Bill Birdsell, president of the Ontario Association of Architects.
“It’s an infill project that doesn’t unsettle the streetscape — important in the elegant Moore Park community. It meets all Design Excellence Award criteria – creativity, sustainability, legacy — but really shines in the good business category. Its unique design process involved the consultation of neighbours, design review groups and city officials.
Ultimately, the limits and restraints of these groups’ concerns were used as a source of inspiration rather than viewed as a restriction, which is something very interesting and special.”
Photos by: Ben Rhan
