The Glenora 1
Old Ottawa East
This is a custom home built on a narrow in-fill lot that has been carefully designed to optimize natural light, and the choice of materials and finishes have been specifically selected to enhance the effect of daylight. On the exterior, the house has a deep relief at the front door and above the garage, which serves to not only lessen the impact of this building on the street, but also allows for strong shadow lines adding a dynamic element to the elevation that evolves over the course of the day.
The masonry cladding has a rough finish which becomes beautifully articulated throughout the day.
The project features an inner courtyard, which allows daylight into the middle of the house and offers a stunning backdrop for the feature stair that leads from the ground to the second floor.
The finishes have been selected to offer a careful interplay of texture and reflectivity. Highly textured materials tend to have a matte finish, which enhances their natural character. These are contrasted with highly reflective finishes such as the glass guards, and the polished kitchen backsplash. The polished materials assist in tying the natural environment into the house, with the reflection of trees visible in the kitchen backsplash and in the glass shower enclosure. The interplay of light and shadow is made possible by the strategic positioning of windows, which have been designed to frame views and to frame spaces.
Ultimately, this project is the result of taking a constrained site and using innovative solutions to craft a custom home that is spacious and bathed in natural light. It is an expression of thoughtful modernity, which is made evident from the care of the finishing details to the articulation of the exterior materials.