The Westminster residence in Toronto’s High Park neighbourhood is a traditional Edwardian gable home hidden within a steeped terracotta roof, producing a cathedral-like space that opens to the underside of the steep chapel roof pitch.
The project comprises three dark monolithic figures: a low, dark brick-clad volume, a heavy triangular stone-clad roof, and tall rectilinear dormers.
On the main floor, a large, floating covered porch occupies the side yard of the corner lot beneath the cantilevered roof. The primary bedroom above expands into a tall roof dormer overlooking the garden.
The material palette consists of dark stained plain sawn walnut, heavy unfilled travertine, concrete, and dark textural lime wash walls contrasting against double height, light-filled lime wash walls and wide plank knotted white oak floors.
The exterior palette includes natural materials that will blend with the sedum landscape over time—from heavy, rough, and textured terracotta roof shingles to hand-pressed brick, vertical hand-brushed wood siding and screening, thin powder-coated aluminum projections, raw galvanized steel, and a combination of rough and smooth cast-in-place concrete.
Interior design on the residence was undertaken by Batay-Csorba Architects, with Whitaker Construction serving as the general contractor.
