As nature seeps through a crack of a stone, or as from a wound of one’s heart blooms a new, unforeseen joy and peace, a nameless empty room becomes a sanctuary, a small universe, where one’s soul can truly rest. Located near Scarborough Bluffs, the panoramic horizon of Lake Ontario, Out(side)In House designed by Atelier RZLBD offers a void that leads the inhabitants to see the inner horizon, suggesting life in its deeper meaning. Photography by Borzu Talaie.
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Fun House is a project designed by Atelier RZLBD. The house, despite being so distinguished from its neighbors, blends into its surrounding so harmoniously. Its simple, rectangular façade with a long horizontal strip of windows on the second floor only mimics the gentle curve of the street in the front and remains crude and frugal in the rest of its details. Behind its unobtrusive and unimposing presence, however, it engages with the peculiar site and clients so energetically. Like a child who can play anywhere with anything, the Fun House discovers playfulness in the two and conceives a playground that belongs to both. Photography by Borzu Talaie.
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Twosome House designed by Atelier RZLBD is a two-storey, 540-square-metre Etobicoke home designed for a family of five. Following in the tradition of Louis I. Kahn, floor plans are defined by precise regulating lines. Two axes divide the property into distinct zones, with rooms plotted according to their program. This organization of “public/private” & “servant/served” spaces establishes a clear sense of order throughout the home. Photography by Borzu Talaie.
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The Mask House designed by Atelier RZLBD is a two-storey dwelling that grounds its presence by embracing juxtapositional qualities in order to set an example for its neighbourhood which is undergoing a rapid gentrification. Located at the Roncesvalles Village, in the west end of Toronto, the project was designed and built respecting the narrow elongated trapezoidal site, the limited budget, the very restricted Zoning & By-laws, and of course a demanding brief from the client. Yet, the outcome brings vivid energy, inspires renewal, and suggests possibilities that design can offer. Photography by Borzu Talaie.
In the history of psychology, there was once a psychosurgical treatment called lobotomy, in which a hole was made in the skull near the frontal lobe, believed to cure mental disorders. For the atelier rzlbd, a series of its interior renovations for condominium units in Toronto have just been like this surgery, in which it has attempted to create an architecturally integrated space without touching the exterior and permanent elements.
HOFA is an adaptation of another overly-defined Toronto condo into a comfortable home designed by Atelier RZLBD for a retired couple in the autumn of their lives. The architect compares it to a harvest of a lifetime, specifically to a pumpkin, hence the accent colour of the condo – orange.
Instar House designed by Atelier RZLBD is a minimalist three-storey wood & steel structure, which is located on the southern edge of Allenby, a neighbourhood on the border between North York and Toronto. While carefully responds to the needs and lifestyle of the clients, the house has moulted from the small foot-print of the two-and-a-half storey structure that had occupied the site since early 1950s and was infamously nicknamed as half-house.
The Opposite House designed by Atelier RZLBD, is a commissioned private residence located on the Scarborough Bluffs, closer to the east edge of the Greater Toronto Area.
