North Ravine House

When a couple with three young children moved into a mid-century modern bungalow on the edge of the West Don Parkland Ravine in North York, they were excited about its natural surroundings and its modernist style. However, the house’s interior was cramped and disorderly, and lacked connection to its natural surroundings. Our extensive renovation and addition aimed to improve its functionality and experience while preserving - and enhancing - the best of its modernist bones.

We opened up the main floor with an expansive living, dining and kitchen area and replaced the rear wall with a floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall creating a virtually seamless connection between the interior and ravine beyond. The depth of this space is enhanced by a new vaulted ceiling treated with warm Douglas Fir, mirroring the home's distinct roofline. Central to this space is an existing structural pier that we clad with handmade terracotta tiles that are laid in a pattern to create projecting shelves for display and decoration.

Towards the front of the house, we incorporated an existing skylight into the second-floor addition, creating a soaring two-storey cutout that channels light into the dining room through an irregularly shaped opening. The unimposing second floor addition accommodates two children’s bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom. The plan is organized around the skylight cutout at the centre, creating a ‘peek-a–boo’ lookout with a glass guard from where the children can playfully engage with the spaces below.

From the outside, the addition rises discreetly above the existing structure. Its narrow bridge-like footprint creates valuable floorspace without compromising the quintessential modernist form of the split-level bungalow, and its prominent angles again echo the house’s distinct asymmetrical roofline. Its set back position from the house’s front elevation also helps it layer into the background – a concept inspired by the image of mountains at different distances in a landscape painting. Out back, sprawling rear patios extend the household activities outdoors towards the ravine.