6 minute read
unCover/reCover: old shells and new trajectories
FRANCESCO MARTIRE
Whether Georgian, Edwardian or Victorian, there is an extensive supply of old housing stock in Toronto typified by thick shells of double wythe load-bearing masonry walls and timber-framed shapely roofs. It is a specific method of construction containing a substantial amount of embodied energy and a level of craft invested over a hundred years ago. A combination of poor thermal envelopes, antiquated programs such as servants’ quarters, and outdated mechanical systems call for a rethinking of this building type. These heavy masonry shells can be repurposed and revitalised for a new set of requirements framed by contemporary living. Through a kind of interior excavation, the addition of light weight wood framing and gypsum board, and the use of windows and light, a new relationship with the architecture transcends property values and iconography. It breeds a love for new space that prolongs the existence of these shells which become a scaffold both shaping and supporting current material technologies and ways of living. Deep care for a space establishes relationships between family and house that is foundational to the true sustainability of architecture. The life of these masonry buildings can be extended by designing tailored solutions for new and evolving inhabitants.
unCover / reCover House is a full renovation of an 1890 Victorian semi-detached single-family dwelling in the west end of Toronto. The house was layered with several modifications over its 130-year history and most recently had sustained damage from a small fire. We peeled away the interior to the exterior load-bearing masonry walls, and reconfigured and layered a set of contemporary spaces tailored for a married couple with two active young children within the existing envelope. The house takes its name from the process of removing the interior lining of lath and plaster and uncovering the spatial potential hidden behind previous layers of inhabitation. The shell of the building, both its load-bearing masonry walls and its multi-faceted shaped roof, remains largely unchanged. Uncovered interior volumes become active participants in the recovered space. The interior demolition uncovered many opportunities to reshape the volume and recover disused space within the building shell. A hidden service stair was found, removed and its volume recovered for the galley kitchen. The removal of a flat ceiling on the third floor uncovered a beautiful series of triangulated sloped surfaces revealing a new spatial volume. Old interior interventions were removed to reveal forms already embedded in the shell waiting to be discovered and brought forward to engage in a new reading of the house.
Connecting the three floors plus basement is a new series of staircases, framed by a scalar interpretation of Victorian ornament, the era in which the house was built. The sequence of staircases is a choreographed interplay of materials, textures and colour constantly modified by ever changing conditions of natural light spilling into the space of the stair. Pristine plumb white planes meet the textured imperfections of the existing masonry demising wall in an interplay of form, texture and light.
The floor plans, left and photographs, right, from attic descending to the basement, show a large bedroom and ensuite occupying the entirety of the third floor. The attic was opened to increase the volume of this floor, revealing a beautifully sculpted series of surfaces created by the intersection of the gabled main and dormer roofs.
Two bedrooms sit on the second floor flanking a family washroom. A family room that occasionally doubles as a guest bedroom is at the front of the house delineated by a large sliding barn door used to modulate the space. Closed, the barn door reveals a collection of books and separates the front room from the rest of the floor for movie watching, video game playing, and reading. While open, the room participates in the activities, spaces, and daylighting of the rest of the second floor.
The ground floor is a continuous set of layered spaces moving from entry, to living, to dining, to a galley kitchen, bringing you to a large window and sliding door to a back porch and garden. This large aperture stretches wall to wall and floor to ceiling, linking the interior to the outside, brightening the kitchen end of the ground floor with brilliant morning sunlight. It is the only place where a small portion of the original masonry wall was removed to acknowledge a more contemporary way to occupy a house.
The Victorian façade with its proportions and composition of openings is maintained throughout. High-performance operable windows inserted into the existing openings keep existing stone lintels and sills and the subtle brick detailing around these openings intact. Three existing stainedglass units were salvaged, refurbished and installed neatly in their original positions on the street-facing façade. Afternoon sunlight shines through the coloured glass painting the walls and floors.
Sitting within the shell is a layer of light wood stud construction containing the materials of modernity; updated electrical wiring, data cables, and thermal, vapour and air barriers, all concealed behind a new skin of gypsum board.
The new interior represents a moment of exchange between the house’s history and its future, a moment of discourse between existing shells and new trajectories. The past is present, its influence is felt. New forms, materials, and uses build enduring relationships between people and the architecture that houses them. This is where we can achieve sustainability.
FRANCESCO MARTIRE is an architect, landscape architect and co-founder of large [medium] design office, a multi-disciplinary practice based in Toronto, Ontario. He is also Associate Professor, Teaching Stream at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto.
