Cascade House / Paul Raff Studio
Nestled among the Forest Hill neighborhood in Toronto, Paul Raff Studio’s latest sustainable residence is “a marriage of environmentally responsible building strategies and elegant architectural composition.” The 353m2 residence, entitled the Cascade House, is designed in an I-formation around an outdoor swimming pool and offers a high quality of aesthetics in addition to environmentally friendly strategies.
More about the home after the break.
”The design is shaped around the concept of making visible the architecture as interface between habitation and landscape,” explained the architect.
The specific orientation of the house and its tall windows is designed to maximize its potential for natural light. The orientation, high-performance building envelope with passive solar design systems, and an internal triple height slate wall that captures available solar energy to warm the home during evening hours, all work to create an effective environmentally-responsible approach to light and heating.
The distinct 13 foot high screen on the street façade of the home is comprised of 475 panels of inexpensive 19mm thick vertically stacked glass in a crenellated pattern. This privacy screen allows a maximum diffusion of light while “providing a striking element when viewed from the street”. The texture of the stacked panels when viewed from the interior, “evokes being caught up in the crest of a wave”. To continue this water effect, the opposite end of the room opens out to a terrace and pool.
As a side note about the architect, Paul Raff received both of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Awards of Excellence this June in Montreal. Raff will be the first architect to receive both awards that credit innovative architecture with beautiful aesthetics along with environmental performance. “We’re integrating environmental performance, economy of means, and the artistry of architecture,” says Raff. “None of these concerns are new, what is new is the thinking that achieves all three at the same time: the integrity.”
As seen on designboom. Images courtesy of Ben Rahn and Steve Tsai.
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13 comments »
Stunning…. audacious but elegant use of color- a work of art. Such dramatic effect created by the juxtaposition of the massive wall and stairs. Full of sensual subtlety brought about by the incredible material selection. Love everything about it.
不错
No doubt the pool is “environmentally responsible”…..
are you implying that pools aren’t “environmentally responsible”?… If so grow some balls and say it instead of being catty; because I can assure you that there are quite a few people here that will disagree.
Stunning. Composition of space is a work of art.
beautiful… the use of color is loud but mellifluous. Love it.
i love the picture with the kids and that toy train… shows an unexpected situation…to me that is. haven’t imagined that looking at first couple of images. architecture truly can be art that is meant to be used.
Agreed, the choice of materials is quite clever, playful and elegant.
It reminds me of Mexican architecture, dont know exactly why, perhaps the use of that stone tile which is used a lot here (or similar ones), and also the bright colors.
What a cool house!
Paul Raff Studio’s Cascade House is aslo featured in Azure Magazine Jan 09 issue – http://www.azuremagazine.com/magazine/backissues/index.php?issue=1832
This is really amazing. How in the world do you find and buy houses like this?
I do love the house but I’m confused by the comments that refer to the colors as “audacious,” “loud,” and “bright.” Are we looking at the same house? The only bright colors I see are in the painting and the rug. The dark tile and green glass may be “unconventional,” but they also serve to actually camouflage the house in its environment. Hardly “loud.”
The stacked “endgrain” glass window is brilliant. It uses integrity of material for the combined results of aesthetics, camouflage, and privacy. Brilliant.
The stairwell that integrates solar gain with thermal mass, while also providing an amazing viewing experience from inside and out is also exquisite.
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