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Architects: Williamson Williamson
- Area: 3800 ft²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:Ben Rahn / A-Frame Inc.
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Manufacturers: Canadian Solar, Daylighting Systems, Owen Sound Ledgerock, Solar, Torp Windows, Wood Floor
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General Contractor: DB Custom Homes Inc., David Bernstein
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Structural Engineering: Blackwell Engineering, Ethan Ghidoni
Text description provided by the architects. A wide lot backing onto Ancaster Creek is the site for an intergenerational home for a couple and their elderly parents. The house was conceived as two distinct residences, each formed into a linear bar containing the full program of a home. The bars sit perpendicular to each other, creating a landscaped courtyard setback from the street, and stack at the corner.
The parent’s suite occupies the ground floor with the living and dining space anchoring the view. The suite is laid out as a single floor accessible apartment with added features to accommodate the specific challenges facing the ageing parents. Among them, well-located drains and a master power switch mitigate issues that have come with memory loss: a sink left running, or an oven left on.
Running parallel to the creek is the main residence. The kitchen anchors the south end of the house. Set in a double height volume, the 20-foot-tall pyramidal ceiling creates an expansive space that opens to the creek, the courtyard, and above to the sky.
The grand gesture of a wood-clad spiral staircase connects the living room to the second floor master suite, creating a unique moment in the otherwise orthogonal room and celebrating the connection between floors. The curvature opens as it rises and becomes the ceiling of the adjacent wing, creating a pinwheeling effect that leads to the parents’ suite.
The ground floor of the house is clad in 3-1/2” thick locally quarried Algonquin limestone which meanders around the perimeter. The coursing is designed to highlight the compression and layering that forms this sedimentary rock. 12” tall stones at the top-most course compress to 4” at the bottom. The horizontal joints are raked deep and the vertical joints are filled flush to emphasize the horizontality of the rock.
To reduce the ecological footprint, energy consumption was decreased through several key moves. Most importantly, two families are now living on a single-family lot, increasing density without increasing building area. Second is the envelope: A high-performance glazing system, triple-pane wood-frame windows with an average Uw = .77 anchor the highly insulated envelope. Radiant floor heating can then be used sparingly and only to compliment a high efficiency furnace. Finally, a 37 module 9.8 kW solar array was installed across two of the flat roofs, offsetting energy consumption. Combined with LED lighting, these measures culminate in a low-energy home that not only sits comfortably in this Northern climate but met the target for the 2030 challenge in its permit year.
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