Credits
From Solares Architecture
This new build, a two-storey home in East-end Toronto was completed in 2013. On a compact property in urban Toronto, the limited property size and low water table meant the only way to add footage was to build a brand new home on the old home's existing footprint, raise the basement and subsequent floors to allow for high basement ceilings, and build an additional storey. The home is also equipped with a rooftop 5kW photovaltaic array connected to the Ontario Microfit electricity Buy-Back Program, which feeds excess energy collected back into the grid for a profit.
The home's EnerGuide score is an impressive 85, and the house is easily walkable to shops, cafes, and schools.
The residents, a large, growing family, had owned the bungalow for years, and had begun to outgrow the compact home. So, a new house with additional stories and a slightly raised basement was erected in its place. The building's flat roof and rectangular shape allowed for maximum square footage; each storey is 850 sq.ft. large, and both the main and second storey have high ceilings of 9 ft., to create a lofty and spacious feel. The basement is still impressively lofty as well, with 8.5 ft. ceilings.
The home is incredibly airtight and well insulated. The air change rate is only 1 ACH@50pa, the windows are triple-glazed fiberglass frame low E argon, and the house is designed with passive designed standards in mind, with large southern exposures in the Great Room for to maximize solar gain.