The House of Monitors is a private residence conceived as a choreography of daylight and construction. Developed in close collaboration with the owners—including the Resident Scenic Artist for the National Ballet of Canada—and a shoring engineer experienced in complex ground conditions, the project uses framed views, sectional cuts, and layered spatial connections to reveal how the house is made. Here, light is both a daylighting strategy and a spatial tool—binding interior and exterior while shaping a sequence of volumes, textures, and luminous atmospheres.

Emerging from the sandy soils of the Scarborough Bluffs, concrete volumes operate as inhabitable shoring—forming the structural and spatial framework of the home while responding directly to unstable ground conditions and minimizing disturbance to the escarpment. Above, a cantilevered wood volume extends toward both street and lake. The intersections and subtractions between these elements generate sectional depth, cross-views, and a carefully calibrated distribution of light throughout the house.

At the heart of the project, a centrally located painting studio was developed through iterative studies and virtual light simulations with the owner. A north-facing clerestory and a radiused ceiling deliver even, controlled daylight—creating optimal conditions for artistic work while reinforcing the home’s broader commitment to light as a defining material.

The site’s context is critical. The Scarborough Bluffs—once eroding at nearly a metre per year—were stabilized through large-scale conservation efforts in the 1960s. What appears natural today is, in fact, largely engineered. Perched on a narrow sliver of tableland atop a 300-foot-high escarpment, the house adopts a restrained footprint and carefully positioned massing, prioritizing long-term stability, discretion, and stewardship over visual prominence.

Entry occurs beneath the front cantilever through a reeded glass door that admits daylight while preserving privacy along the closely spaced street edge. Concrete forms the service core, anchoring the house to the bluff and performing simultaneously as structure, shoring, and thermal mass. Circulation routes and primary living spaces are lined with warm wood millwork, offering a tactile counterpoint to the raw concrete. Above, white-painted light monitors draw daylight deep into the plan, reducing reliance on artificial lighting. The elemental material palette emphasizes durability, repairability, and long-term performance.

From the street, storage and pantry spaces create a protective service layer, while living, dining, and kitchen areas open toward expansive lake views. A 26-foot-tall light monitor defines the home’s central vertical volume—its generosity shaped by daylight rather than added floor area. Upper-level bedrooms, office, and living spaces remain visually and spatially connected, sharing light and views across levels and to the exterior. The primary bedroom and deck face the lake, while secondary spaces are screened from the street by a slatted façade that allows privacy to adapt over time.

As a private residence on a sensitive site, the House of Monitors presents a compelling model of architectural restraint and clarity—demonstrating how ambition, environmental responsibility, and site stewardship can coexist through careful, disciplined design.

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