Arch2O.com

Arch2O.com - Architecture & Design Magazine
The Double Duplex infill project is located on Melbourne Avenue in Toronto’s Park dale neighborhood, notable for its century-old Victorian and Bay and Gable mansions. The existing double-wide site was severed into two separate properties with a four-story, 3,500 square foot detached duplex residence constructed on each site, each with two two-storey units.
Courtesy of Batay-Csorba Architects – Photography : Doublespace
Double Duplex pays tribute to the existing context and the beauty of its craft and local artistry firstly, by abstracting and reinterpreting the pervasive Bay and Gable typology, and secondly, by translating the notion of 19th century craft by way of a two-storey brise soleil.  Constructed of a thermally treated softwood, the brise soleil encloses the front and rear balconies, providing privacy and creating a large-scale dynamic facade, illuminating the interior with dappled light during the day, and reading as a glowing lantern during the dark hours. Courtesy of Batay-Csorba Architects – Axonometric
The dynamism of the brise soleil also helps to activate the urban environment below, which was of key importance.  As a modern static building facade could not contend with the ornate historical context, the response was to engage the movement of the passing public through the tools of material and spatial depth, referencing a large art installation — the members of the brise so...