Howland Residence

Project Details

Project Description

Renovation / Award
This three-story, turn-of-the-century house is located in Toronto’s Annex neighborhood, an area traditionally populated with students from the nearby University of Toronto. Local firm Williamson Chong Architects turned this neglected brick structure into a multigenerational home, with room for a young family, their grandparents, and a unit for student renters. Service space and family space are organized around a curved wooden staircase—with integrated storage and usable surfaces—that serves as the center of the 2,300-square-foot home. “It has a level of exquisite compositional and material precision that I think really finds a way of blending hard edges and curves,” said Juror Joel Sanders. The warm wood paneling continues through to the living spaces on the second level, strategically deployed as wayfinding and a division of space. Existing historic details, such as a carved balustrade, were restored and carry through to the third floor. “It's a very inviting insertion into this historic house,” juror Gregory Hoss said, noting that “it's just enveloped in warmth. I love it.” —Katie Gerfen