StudioAC introduces Everden, its new build construction of a single family residence. The brief was to create a home that felt unique and personal to the homeowners, unapologetically contemporary, while still having cues to the traditional ideas of “house”. What followed was a three story form, reading as stacked boxes, carrying the motif of “house” throughout the interior.
While a gabled roof is one of the quintessential icons of “house”, the Studio was interested in elevating this phenomenon beyond motif to a spatial experience that defined a narrative throughout the project. A gabled space on Level 3 relates to the roofline, however a decision was made that the ground floor, often relegated to cubic space, should be provided with a gable extrusion as well to enhance the sense of ‘house’ across the shared living spaces. This combined a planometric and material direction that would emphasize a three-dimensional stacking and staggering that plays with the definition between form, space, and motif.
The Everden house places much of its emphasis on experience of space, allowing for flexibility with material expression. This approach was integral to working with the clients budget strategy and thesis: to create a project that is impactful without being indulgent. The house features an exterior cladding of corrugated metal - durable, affordable, and familiar. The material is elevated through the precise detailing of levels and parapets to create the illusion of stacked boxes. Similarly, the interior focuses on one critical move: the peaked ceiling scape. This allowed other details to become secondary and, in doing so, more cost effective.
About Studio for Architecture & Collaboration
Studio for Architecture & Collaboration (StudioAC) is an interdisciplinary architectural practice based in Toronto, Canada. The practice was founded in 2015 and has since received numerous accolades, appearing in a number of publications internationally including Azure Magazine’s list of 30 Canadian Architecture Firms Breaking New Ground. In 2019, StudioAC was named Canada’s Best Emerging Designer by the Design Exchange and, in 2021, the practice was selected by 20+Change and Canadian Architect as one of 20 firms across Canada recognized for the approach to practice and strength of projects. In 2023, StudioAC was named Designer of the Year by Designlines Magazine.
Every project is approached with care and passion, and working with clients and consultants to craft a working relationship that will cultivate an environment that sparks inspiration is critical. The strongest examples of such relationships often produce the strongest work. During this process, we strive to find an ideological thread that can be fed through a project, giving meaning to decisions along the way.
Legibility, clarity, and singularity work together to make projects that impact the user and increase the real and intrinsic value of the work. StudioAC strives to create impactful and thoughtful architecture that speaks to its context at a multitude of scales. They believe that good design, architecture, and art can bring people together, enhance a community, help businesses to flourish, and start much needed conversations within our cities.
