Modern Canadian Homes Showcase Clever Entryways

owlmaster Although interesting, I couldn't help but notice how the second house towers over its older neighbors. I wouldn't say it is a good example of context friendly infill.

patricia beharry Feel so sorry for the neighbours in the first two photos. How are they going to be able to sell their homes.

dawnbc1 While I really admired the buildings, I thought how much the immediate neighbors would not....and who can blame them? I agree with the previous comments.

pinzerella Looks like none of these architects believe in the aesthetic value of a 'circle'. Personally, I find all these featured dwellings cold & impersonal. They all look like they are trying too hard to be 'important'. That's not good architecture, rather it's amateurish.

dmiket I'm in the crowd for the inappropriate style of the first two homes relative to their neighborhood....interesting homes in their own right but not in thier respective locations..
the entries for these homes were interesting..
thanks for sharing

Kimberly Wow, I disagree with all of the comments. This corner house is beautiful!! So what if it stands out. I think its a good thing. A difference in taste is what makes us all unique. :-)

jamma33 Very happy to read the previous comments, I feel you need to fit in to your neighborhood, and they clearly were unconcerned about that.

henryh these are exciting homes....but there was no consideration as to how they would fit into the existing neighbourhood. It's like going to a picnic in a tuxedo!

wandm I love these entries, so intriguing. I would love to see the entire front of the last two houses, although I guess there's no way to get far enough away to get that shot.

aidafah as an educator, i'm hoping the above comments stating the importance of "fitting in" are not being communicated to our youth. originality and individuality are not disrespectful of "context". they speak to the reality of evolving contexts and uphold the right to freedom of expression. the comments remind me so much of a mixing pot mentality where differences are sadly muted for the majority's sake.

tina4 I like the diverse look actually, too. There are few modern neighbourhoods so putting one here and there seems like the only solution. Although it appears strange at first glance once people are use to it the streetscape becomes just more interesting. I love the wood siding on all the buildings. Really adds warmth and character. try to add the same feeling on my house. Any ideas on how to start? Lumber yard or re-made? DIY or contractor. I am trying to keep the price down, just painted my house and adding some modern finishes: numbers, door, lights. The house is still fairly "run of the mill"- with painted siding, but has some interesting midcentury features: roof line, long windows, etc. The transformation has happened outside, just looking for small gestures outside.

dawnbc1 sorry aidafah, need to disagree.
I'm generally not very conformist but I think you're comparing apples to oranges. Children must have the social skills and intelligence to go out into the world, broaden their horizons, be unique enough to be noticed by others and adaptable enough to become part of mosaic. But if they're never leaving their backyard then what they really need is to make friends with the kid next door.

morgana44 Aidafah...I doubt anyone wants to disrespect originality or individuality. The context in which the comments were made was that these houses neither fit into their neighborhood nor was the neighborhood taken into consideration when building these houses.

By all means we celebrate many of the modern building styles (and these were quite nice) but sometimes it does come down to context. Especially when a home owner has made a huge investment in a particular syle of neighborhood only to find a new house (completely different from all the other houses) is built and can impact the value of their house.

IMO that is what the comments say and their point is valid.

henryh since when does consideration for your neighbour have anything to do with freedom of expression???

woodsincity I , too am distressed that these first two homes show no sympathy for their surroundings. Their are ways to make modern architecture fit in. It is jarring and stressful when it does not. We are all stressed enough!!

wrapping I think that these houses are in context, actually. They are in their own context of time. We should not design our homes today in a long ago fairytale styles of old. I do think however that scale is an issue for planners here. The materials and 'style' of the design is contemporary which I agree with, but I do sympathize with the previous comments in terms of the unsympathetic bulk of the infill houses.
I think good Architecture should be easily 'read'. I think it is important that a building is able to tell you when it was built and what it's purpose for being here is.

zombieknit I think the houses are interesting but re the entrances, I hope none of the inhabitants or guests are in wheelchairs or on crutches (or even have their foot in plaster).

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Hidden entries are unhospitable. They say, 'go away, you're not welcome'. In the South, where hospitality reigns, front doors are practically enshrined.
While stairs beautify an entry, they're just not functional for disabled or mature users.

reggiem The first home is interesting for perhaps a hill side lot. The disparity in heights of this home to its neighbors, is what bothers me. Not sure why the Architect chose to not build up the street corner edge instead?. They could have also dug down into the site for needed height.

Diamondflame It's one thing building a monolithic structure that sticks out like a sore thumb on a hillside but building one that completely dwarfs the neighbors and disregards the context of its surroundings is what some might refer to as 'irresponsible architecture'. Hideous.

iwellman1 I applaud the owners willing to break from the herd and create homes that are unique, well constructed and suits their taste. Take a look at the cookie cutter homes dotting suburbia...not aesthetically pleasing. I'm certain specific city and neighborhood requirements had to be met before building so more power to the architects and homeowners!

patricia beharry hold that thought. With that thinking this homeowner should have no objection to someone putting a lean-to next to their home. As some are saying everyone should be able to do whatever pleases them and not worry about their neighbours? Then we wold have a hodgepodge.

olldroo It is nice to give owners and visitors protection when entering or leaving a home but from a security aspect some of these homes give too much protection to unwanted visitors for my comfort. Obscure entrances are an open invitation to undesirables.

Streetscape is very important for all home owners in one street to maintain individual values. The new and the old can mix happily together provided there is empathy and respect for each other and I admire an architect more who can achieve this while still creating a stunning modern home. The first two homes here not only devalue adjoining properties but they would devalue themselves by being too out of sync with the adjoining area. It is never a financially sound idea to buy the best house in a street.

lorraine franklin Contrary to some of the comments regarding the first two homes and some of the other modern homes. It's about time Toronto caught up with the some of the other international cities to name a few Vancouver,Los Angeles,new York,South Africa ,India and Israel amongst many others,and stopped pushing out cookie cutter homes that essentially are boxes and have very little architectural value or interest.
I happen to love the first two homes,they are unique in their neighborhoods ,have great utilization of space and an interesting mix of materials. A refreshing change and one i think we will see a lot more of.They are interesting and I would love to own one of them. I look forward to hopefully seeing more publications of the interiors
Come on Toronto get out the dark ages-change is good.
I love modern architecture and hope to see many more homes like this in Toronto.And I do not stand alone in my judgement. keep up the good work

John Hill Funny how an Ideabook talking about one thing solicits so much discussion about something else. In this case everybody is gravitating toward is determining what is appropriate in regards the first two projects. Should the homeowner in the first project (located in Toronto's Annex neighborhood), for example, be able to build a modern home that is a little bit bigger than the neighbors (really, it's just a little bit bigger, not out of whack like the slabs visible in the distance in the first two photos, which some people make it sound like) that are fairly cohesive in terms of style and scale? Personally I think they should, because I think difference in architectural expression is a good thing, especially in democratic places. Sure it results in a hodgepodge, as Patricia calls it; but that's what cities are! (The Annex may look suburban but it's very close to downtown Toronto, making it more urban than suburban.)

But if enough people living in the Annex want to preserve the character of the streetscapes by creating boundaries for what can be built in terms of scale and style, then democratically they can do that too; in Toronto it's called a Heritage Conservation District. There is an HPD that exists in the area, but it's one block east of the street where the house is located (http://www.toronto.ca/heritage-preservation/hcd_east_annex.htm). Therefore the owners had every right to build in the manner they did. Even if I didn't like the architecture of the house, I'd have a hard time saying the house ruins the street or has devalued the adjacent and nearby properties; in particular I have a hard time believing the latter. Can a modern house really have that sort of impact? I doubt it.

wandm I enjoy something different. Maybe that's why I like these entryways...they are unexpected and clever. They didn't just take something that someone else did and duplicate it, they gave it some thought. To me, it works. Happily for me, I'm in a custom neighborhood that has a pretty good mix of different styles, modern among them. But also Tudor, Prarie (I think that's what it's called...sort of Frank Lloyd Wright-ish), Mission style, Craftsman, Asian, one that looks like a Tuscan villa and a whole bunch of places that I have no idea what style they belong to. If all of the other homes in the first two neighborhoods are the same, maybe it would not look right to have one that's different. But I can't tell from the pictures if that's the case. I would hope not.

morgana44 John Hill....but it's an interesting discussion isn't it? They are having it in Rome and London and across the US. And it appears they had it in Canada because you have a Heritage Conservation District.

Anyways, love the articles because it introduces design I might not see in magazines like Architectural Digest, Tradtional Home, etc. and I enjoy the discussions whether I agree or not .

wrapping The house in images 5,6 and 7 make me feel really uncomfortable. The scale of the entry feels to me like a commercial loading dock, not the entry for a home to contain a family. My apologies to the author of the design, I know creating space is not easy and everyone has different tastes. I guess design comes from the heart and where you feel your place in the world is. I prefer a bit of humility with a splash of creativity not ostentation. I love the other examples of entry. It is a wonderful diverse world.

174821 The first two houses fly in the face of everything preservationist have worked to accomplish for the last 60 years. Ruining a neighborhood and property values has nothing to do with freedom of expression. That attitude is the reason we have so many children (and adults) who have no manners and no concern for the rights of others.
As Prince Charles once said, "those buildings resemble a carbuncle upon one's face". Obviously there were no preservation ordinances in place to prevent such "freedom of expression".

henryh BRAVO! well put.

Kallini Homes Inc. Freedom of expression! Nothing to do with your neighbourhood's surrounding. If we always considered what your neighbour is doing, we would all be boring and unoriginal.

Jake The owners of the homes in the older 'hood will be happy knowing their land values just shot up. Second, those old victorian homes in Toronto won't last much longer, but brand new infill ones do, therefore, get rid of the old junk and in with the new modern architecture. There's only so much lipstick you can put on a pig before you tear down and start fresh.

174821 Interesting how those "old pigs" out last the new. The houses to survive Katrina's flooding in New Orleans were the "old pigs". How long do you think the stucco sprayed on chicken wire construction of "tract mansions" will last?

The above houses are interesting. They may be well designed. They appear to be well constructed out of substantial materials. They are not in the proper context. Volumes have been written about proportion, proper context, etc., etc. etc. etc. apparently all to no avail.

zombieknit I agree re the reply about the "old pigs", as most older wooden buildings in my city withstood multiple earthquakes (especially those built after the code changed in the 1930s in response to another quake) while the ones that failed catastrophically and killed over 100 people where relatively modern. Old doesn't equal bad.

174821 Re Homes Inc.: Most people are boring and unoriginal. That has nothing to do with the proper context.

Michael McGee The porch with the two skinny columns doesn't meet code. No railing shown.

olldroo I wondered about building codes when I see these photos. Sadly as I age, arthritis is taking over my knees making me very unsteady on stairs and needing a hand rail to feel secure. I wonder at the owners of these homes - do they not have elderly relatives with mobility problems? There is nothing worse that visiting someone and having to decline their invitation because I know I will not be able to walk down the stairs to leave.

Grand Bay Building and Remodeling Perhaps a bit too commercial for my tastes- however, it seems the corner lot homes are acting as a transition to a busier and less residential area. This possibly answers why they look out of touch with their neighbors.

Designs by O'Brien I find all these comments interesting.
For one- it shows that we are all entitled to our opinions and the diversity in them make this a very hot topic. We are living in a multicultural socirty- and this is showing strongly in this architectural illustration. The reason I use multicultural is because where we historically come from does shine through in our tastes, dislikes and likes...and in our styles- in all areas.
I agree with the height of the one home being a tad monopolizing over the other home...
but the corner house is fabulous. It is an anchor.( A corner property is always difficult to sell- depending on the traffic of the surrounding roads).

The design is edgy... the Tudor-esque house next to it is a total contrast...There is no competition...and thus no reason to even compare. We can only be entertained by the contrast and commentary that the opposition brings forth. How nice that the designer and owner decided to make the neighbours meet for coffee and discuss their neighbourhood. Do you not think that the same conversation happens in every re-gentrifying neighbourhood? The little cottage- next to the monolith?
Embrace the diversity- it is not going to leave anytime soon. Why would you want to live in " Stepford" anyway?

bennycatgirl Wow. This article certainly hit a nerve or twelve. I used to live in the Annex (which is really downtown being a hop, skip and jump from Yonge and Bloor) and loved the old buildings. But I also love the mixing in of new styles, and feel it keeps a neighborhood fresh, vibrant and visually interesting. (Just please avoid using obnoxious reflective metal siding, better suited to the countryside and no neighbours, and I'm content). My community, Hintonburg in Ottawa, is also going through an interesting revitalization with new, modern buildings being added to the existing 1920s brick semis and Dutch colonials and the old wooden 1900s railway workers homes. Some people are unhappy with the changes, but overall, it adds to the eclectic, creative vibe that attracted most of us to the area in the first place.

I do agree with the comments on accessibility - though, as an Ontarian, I can vouch for a covered entry as making life easier in January when the snow is flying. It would be interesting to see how people have used creativity to create protected, attractive, universally accessible entries. Thanks for an interesting read!

awfergie @patriciabeharry. It's a house next door. Terrorists aren't living there. Bricks & mortar. How about acting like inclusive Toronto. People are so narrow minded. Maybe being a little different is good sometimes.

henryh How can you be so sure terrorists aren't living there ?.... what a stupid comment!