East End Loft

Years in the making, the East End Loft project is a textbook case for how to gently increase density and green space in the city. The sustainable house design was a labour of love, but also a labour of imagination. With vision, drive, and incredible engineering, one couple succeeded in placing a light-filled, three-bedroom house and lush urban garden in the space formerly occupied by a typical two-bedroom Toronto walk-up. And they did it all without disrupting the street-level business below.

The couple work shifts and commute in opposite directions by public transit and car. They wanted out-of-town amenities, but they didn’t want to give up the conveniences and excitement of urban living. Above all, they wanted a green home—one with solar panels, a green roof, and an urban apiary.

They already owned the two-story mixed-use commercial-residential building in Toronto’s east end when they contacted Solares. Their question was simple: can we turn what we have into what we want, and do it sustainably?

The answer was a resounding “yes”. And this couple now has it all: wide open living spaces drenched in natural light, multiple bedrooms, a kitchen garden, a green roof, an enormous deck for entertaining, an apiary, and a workshop for tinkering with the car. The luxuries of non-urban living, all in the heart of the city.

Step inside and you find yourself in a pristine white, entrance-facing staircase with light wood treads. Instantly, the sounds of the city fade away. Drawn up the stairs by the pull of natural light, you enter the bright open-concept home, with a clear sight line from one end to the other.

The décor is industrial loft-modern: crisp white walls, black accents, exposed steel, and geometric tile patterns. Honey-coloured wood brings warmth. At the front of the house is the chic and cozy living room, with an exposed brick wall, a wood-burning stove, and an impressive audio-visual system on display. In the middle is a powder room and the dining space. This is connected to the modern kitchen, which has black cabinets, white marble surfaces, and an accent wall of geometric tiles. Sliding glass doors connect the kitchen to the large back deck, which, with its linear fencing, feels like a back yard re-located one storey up.

Retrace your steps and climb the next flight of stairs to reach three bedrooms and a luxurious spa-like bathroom upstairs, then another flight to the massive rooftop terrace.

Spanning the entire length of the building, this enormous rooftop space has a shaded lounge area, a dining area, and room for a bountiful kitchen garden. The building next door, which the couple also owns, has a green roof and an apiary—the couple’s part in supporting our ecosystem’s pollinators.

The owners were keen to have many connections to the outside world from their urban home. In addition to the front door off the street, there is an external staircase leading from the kitchen at the back of the building to the ground floor-level parking space. There is also a connection from that space down to the basement, which is home to their workshop.

Sustainable house expertise is what drew this couple to Solares, and we were thrilled to take on the exciting challenge of replacing a dark apartment with a light-filled three-bedroom home. Projects like these, which do not create additional footprint, are a key part of sustainable house design. Teaming up on the project was builder Mikael Granander of MHG Design, who executed the construction with great attention to detail.

Start With What Matters Most. The first thing this couple told us about their vision for green home design is that they wanted to have a roof deck with a large kitchen garden and solar panels. That had key engineering implications: the roof had to be built to withstand a considerable load. In a way, the project started at the roof and worked its way down.

Turn Technical Challenges into Design Opportunities. Swapping a one-storey apartment for a two-storey house with a heavy roof-top deck meant providing a steel moment frame within the second and third floors structures. Much like a bracket affixed to the existing brick walls on the ground floor, the steel moment frame, is built with steel columns and beams, rigidly connected at the corners to keep the second and third storeys of the building from racking. The frame was left exposed to the interior, and so had to be fire protected by a special paint, making it part of the modern industrial loft look.

Work Patiently with Real-World Conditions. The ground floor of this building houses a bustling business that had to stay open throughout the build. It was challenging to undertake all the construction (including re-underpinning the basement and, later, removing the roof) while ensuring that the business could keep operating without a hitch, but we did it. The construction schedule was longer, but a can-do approach from everyone involved in the build together with good planning made it possible. As a residential architecture firm in Toronto, knowing how to work successfully with mixed commercial-residential zoning is key.

Evolving Design to Accommodate Passion for the Environment. Over the course of the project, the couple purchased the building next door. This allowed them to expand their green home vision. They created a green roof on that building and added an urban apiary. Their sustainable house now also supports our ecosystem’s pollinators.

Stylish, Cost-Effective Materials. With the right treatment, cost-effective materials can look contemporary and stylish. Laying the kitchen tiles perfectly and choosing high-contrast black grout made the simply white tiles a striking style feature. Similarly, for the grey exterior cladding, although the material is cost-effective and maintenance free (öko skin cement boards by Rieder), flawless installation of mismatched grey hues gives the building an understated European sophistication.