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Tower Home Rises in Downtown Toronto

Aiming high, a Canadian couple builds a 5-floor residence on a compact, neglected urban plot

Andrew Snow

When passersby looked at a small, overgrown lot in downtown Toronto, most just saw a dilapidated shed. But Julie Dyck saw sky-high potential. Dyck lived nearby and often fantasized about the neglected parcel. In 2004 she and her partner, Michael Humphries, took the plunge and purchased the lot for a modest $50,000 Canadian (about U.S.$47,270). They enlisted their friend, high-rise architect Drew Hauser, now a principal at McCallum Sather Architects, to design a house for the 625-square-foot site and spent the next several years nurturing one of Toronto’s most imaginative infill houses.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Julie Dyck and Michael Humphries
Location: Corktown, Toronto
Size: 2,000 square feet; 5 floors including garage; 1 bedroom, 2 studios and 3 bathrooms
Year built: 2011

Read more: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/21031...nt_ob_21031332

A modern home for someone more used to museums

SUSAN SMITH
Special to The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Sep. 11 2014, 12:25 PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Sep. 11 2014, 12:28 PM EDT

Alexandra Palmer’s new space is a stone’s throw from her old Edwardian home in Toronto’s West End. But it’s a century away in terms of design.

Ms. Palmer, a senior curator at the Royal Ontario Museum who works with textiles and fashion, loved the venerable wood-filled Edwardian and appreciated its heritage detail. But it had a lot of underutilized space, like the dining room and the long hallways. The rooms were all enclosed, separate units, as was typical of the style.

It was time for something open and energy-efficient, a home she could help create from the ground up to suit the way she lives. “I wanted a modern house,” she says, sitting at the table in the light-filled kitchen/dining area at the front of her new home. “I like the design process. It’s problem-solving and it’s fun.”

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...ticle20543461/