Situated in South Rosedale, one of Toronto’s dedicated heritage conservation districts, Roxborough House dates originally from the 1920’s. Subject to stringent preservation restrictions, the renovation of this Edwardian style home posed the challenge of balancing deference for heritage character with the client’s desire for modernization through a minimalist aesthetic. 

The design brief called for maintaining the original number of bedrooms and living spaces while enhancing spatial flow. This was achieved by the subtle expansion of hallways and central stair, incorporation of strategic voids in the staircase, and the use of full-height, flush doors. The result is a home of material continuity, attuned proportions and calibrated light.

An emphasis on simple and essential prevails - the soapstone kitchen island, the arched ante-room pantry, the deep vaulted hallway leading to the principal bedroom - all elemental forms and geometries that unify between space, program and use.

Overall, this project reflects a reverence for Toronto’s historic residential architecture. The interpretation of historic elements, including the freeing of some from their original intended use, amplifies essential qualities of space, while maintaining a strong connection between house, garage and garden. Roxborough House synthesizes gh3's evolving preoccupation with the abstraction and distillation of program and space, both inside and out, consistent with the studio's integrated practice of architecture and landscape.