Buildings - Award

Pat Bollenberghe
This is well executed. Simple strong forms and use of materials. An excellent example of intensification that fits into an established residential neighbourhood.

Alex Krieger
Not a bad urban exchange; a proud town-home in lieu of the single-car garage that preceded it on the site. The accolades should be shared with the city zoning officials who granted the variances allowing this brilliant infill project to occur. This is also a valuable lesson in aesthetic sensibilities. A traditional vernacular would have looked silly on this 13-foot site, an emaciated neighbour arrested in its growth. By contrast the contemporary vocabulary gives this home a substantial - even monumental - presence on the street.

Bruce Kuwabara
An excellent work of contemporary architecture on a narrow site, this townhouse respects the setback and height within a streetscape of Victorian houses. The subdivision of the façade into major and minor sections achieves vertical proportions that respond to the adjacent Victorian facades. The composition of windows which maximize light on a north-facing elevation, expresses the interior while respecting the scale of neighbouring houses. The entrance forecourt creates a graceful transition between townhouse and street.

Lisa Rochon
Following in the tradition of Eileen Gray, this house is designed with a heightened awareness of circulation, materiality and the body. It only measures 13 feet wide but light penetrates deeply into the building - a balloon-frame, steel structure allowed for walls of glass to be supported at its north and south faces. With this kind of architectural triumph, you'd think that Torontonians would be happy to shake free of their bond with the Bay 'n' Gable and embrace a new contemporary language.