The Whale house, Toronto Home, Ontario Residence, Canadian Property

The Whale house : New Home in Toronto

New Woodbine-Lumsden Residence, Ontario, Canada – design by Atelier Reza Aliabadi > rzlbd

16 Oct 2012

The Whale house

Design: Atelier Reza Aliabadi > rzlbd

The Whale house is another spatial experiment by rzlbd, a monochromic contemporary manifesto that evolves around a central detached box painted in red standing free inside a three storey height foyer. The building appears to have swallowed the box symbolizing the contemplation space inside the spacious jaw of the whale that swallowed Jonah.

photos : borXu Design

Situated in Woodbine-Lumsden Neighborhood in Toronto, the lot shares a driveway with its neighbor forcing the architect to design the house even narrower than what zoning bylaw allows. The final design is a 15 feet wide three-storey wood structure that celebrates linearity and sectional revisions.

Upon entrance to the house the distinguished red box containing the powder room stands out in the middle of the welcoming three-storey height space acting as a visual barrier between the home office in the frontier of the house and the more private domestic areas, kitchen and living room on the main floor. The circulation around the red box leads to the main floor and from there to the contemplation space on top of the box where one can overlook the spaces in the house as well as the outside view from the horizontal glazing on the front façade. The main floor contains a linear kitchen and staircase that act not as visual barriers to the rest of the main floor, but as passages that emphasize the length of the house and lead the south side natural light towards the interior spaces. The private domain of the house is situated on upper levels. The two bedrooms on the second floor share a washroom while the master bedroom on the third floor enjoys a private view to outside world from the windows on north façade, the skylight on slanted ceiling, and the foyer on entry level.

The exterior façade is designed with careful attention to the interior arrangement of the house. The vertical linear glazing corresponds to the levels and the main staircase, so when one descends the staircase the exterior views are never lost. The horizontal glazing on level one and two respond to the office and the loft respectively.

The giant grey whale rests on a land well decorated by its surrounding landscape, the pavement and the vegetation follow the geometry of the house leading you toward a metaphorical journey and a space well designated for hours of meditation and relaxing thoughts.

photos : borXu Design

House in Woodbine-Lumsden – Building Information

Design: rzlbd [Reza Aliabadi]
Project Team: Reza Aliabadi, Ladan Niknam, Lailee Soleimani
Structure: Ali Saeed
Project Manager: Amin Sheivari
Construction: Maxamin Corp.
Building Type: Single family house
Location: Woodbine-Lumsden Neighborhood, Toronto
Basics: Two & half story wood structure
Lot: 25’X100′
Living Area: 1,800 sqft
Design: 2010
Completion: Spring 2012

Toronto house images / information from Atelier Reza Aliabadi > rzlbd

Atelier Reza Aliabadi > rzlbd

Location: Woodbine-Lumsden, Toronto, Ontario, Canada