The Driveway House in Toronto

After looking over the renderings for Urban Capital Property Group’s Smart House, which features Toronto’s very first micro-unit apartments, we thought we’d seen it all, until we came across the ‘Driveway House.’ Exactly what it says it is, architect Rohan Walters from Spaces by Rohan was compelled to take on the challenge posed to him by project investors.

Image via SpacingbyRohan.com

Having persuaded a big corporation he had been doing work for to purchase the site at 1292 College Street West, they asked Walters to draw up a design. The plans included a three-unit, three-level home, complete with a wind turbine and a vertical axis that would include a ground floor unit that would be completely wheelchair accessible. After some company changes, Walters took financial responsibility of the project having to scrap the wind turbine and idea for separate apartments.

Located beside Walters' two-storey family residence, this 1,084 square foot experimental house is one of those ‘see-it-to-believe-it’ things, because it actually appears to be quite spacious. With dexterity in design, this little home maximizes the use of space as efficiently as it does materials. Walter explained that the raw wood finishes for ceiling joists, window casings and staircases help regulate humidity in a natural way, while dimming the effect of bright LED lights. The home is also built from mason blocks and features high performance insulation in the walls and foil-faced polystyrene insulated ceilings with 3 ½ inches of spray foam insulation to help maintain the temperature. With daylight savings strategies, Heat Recovery Ventilation, insulated water lines, LED lighting, on demand gas fired domestic hot water, and an energy efficient space heater, the home can reduce utility bills to just $100 a month for two people!

The second floor is complete with a master bedroom, dressing area and another bathroom. Using glass walls and nine foot ceilings to create a more spacious environment along the side of the staircase, light travels through the rooms and creates an open concept style of living. The third floor has seven-foot ceilings and was designed to accommodate a child’s room or an office space.

The objective of the project was to consider “flexible housing, social relevance [and] changing demographics,” said Walters. “That’s a principle that’s timeless. I’m going to hold onto that. I’m going to demonstrate that.” The design’s success in regards to sustainability is so impressive that it even managed to gain the attention of the folks at Inhabitat; an international web blog who are “devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.”  With these incentives in mind, spaces like driveways, backyards and other lots (where they’re not being used for the intended purposes) will be valuable in urban locations for the future of housing.

All images by Peter Legris unless otherwise noted.