BIRMINGHAM HOUSE
YEAR 2025
TYPOGOLOGY Residential Addition
LOCATION Guelph, Ontario
COLLABORATORS LPC Construction
TYPOGOLOGY Residential Addition
LOCATION Guelph, Ontario
COLLABORATORS LPC Construction
This ongoing residential addition is my first solo project to be realized. Satisfying the client's interest in maintaining the modest scale and traditional character of her home while adding as much interior space as possible, this project utilizes a steep grade change to create a walkout living room in the basement and a light filled dining room above.
As the grade dips toward the rear of the property the upper room gains an elevated feeling, with a balcony projecting into the generous back yard. The project is a study in duality, striving to both fit in with the existing home and to differentiate itself as a new volume. Several elements were directly matched to the existing house, including the window sizes and locations, the depth of the addition (mirroring an existing living room), the line of the facia and frieze board, and interior finishes including traditional narrow-plank oak flooring. Exterior elements such as siding, rather than brick, and a flat roof rather than the existing hipped roof establish the addition as its own entity. The upper floor of the addition, continuous with the main floor of the house, is treated more traditionally, with clapboard siding and wood finishes inside. the basement level, sunken below the existing unfished basement for a full 8' ceiling, is treated as its own, more contemporary, world, with an unfished concrete exterior, punched windows, a polished concrete floor, and a curved bulkhead to carry the required duct work. The project is under construction, with a completion date in March 2025.
