People cycling around the eastern edges of the Annex will
have noticed a new house on the corner of Admiral and Bernard that doesn't look
at all like its neighbours.
Thanks to architect Nelson Kwong of nkA, the two dentists
who lived in the mock-Tudor home that used to sit on the narrow 6.5 x 30 metre
lot are now settling in to the city's newest attempt to update its housing
style.
Winner of the Canadian Architects Award of Excellence in its
planning stages, the house is three planar brick storeys high with a green-roof
terrace and a single staircase running up its east side.
"The project itself was not without its challenges in terms
of the approvals process," says Kwong, referring to concerns raised by the
Annex Residents Association. "There was some opposition to what was proposed.
It doesn't pick up on trying to be quasi-Victorian. But I think the owners were
quite committed to the process."
The house is in the spiritual centre of the Annex, just down from Margaret Atwood's longtime home, and a few up from the
house former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson shares with husband John
Ralston Saul.
The lot, on the corner next door to the former German consulate, meant there would be little space for a yard.
"As much as that backyard is their own space, it's still
quite a public space, even when you screen it off. Which gave us the idea for
the flat-roof terrace with a green-roof application. It's almost given them
back a full lot of outdoor amenity space."
Kwong says it's also an example of passive design, meaning the windows
and roof minimize the amount of cooling and heating needed.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Nelson Kwong