Annex House

WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

In an era of increased need for housing, particularly the missing middle, the Annex House project prioritizes hidden density in an established neighbourhood. The project is designed with a unique character that minimizes visual impact from the street while prioritizing access to natural light for all the units, including the lower level. While the proposal to split the project into five units may be challenging, the increase from a single-family home to three unique suites begins to address the need for this housing typology in an ever-growing city.
– Matthew Hickey, juror

LOCATION Toronto, Ontario

Some of the major challenges with gentle density are related to access. Multiplexes on narrow lots often forfeit a significant portion of the main elevation to establish a shared entrance. The default alternative is to impose a hierarchical, ‘tradesman’s entrance’ condition on the occupants of the rear dwelling, who must enter their home from the backdoor. Narrow lots are the norm in Toronto’s central, well-established Annex neighbourhood, and recent changes to the city’s bylaws have simplified permitting for laneway houses, garden suites and multiplexes. Annex House resolves the equal-access issue by placing the entrances for each unit along a shared pathway set within its side-yard setback, granting a pleasant entry experience for all residents, whether they arrive on foot from the main street or by car from the laneway garage.

WAO implemented four strategies to allow three distinct units to co-exist on the narrow Annex lot—all with privacy and surprisingly generous access to natural light. One: all primary living spaces in the main house’s two interlocking units and in the laneway unit face onto the shared courtyard. The more private orientation makes it possible for extra-large glazing units which maximize daylight and views. Two: a masonry perimeter wall wraps around the pathway that provides access to all three residences; this reinforces the semi-private character of the exterior common spaces and brings the two buildings together to form a unified architectural experience. Three: taking cues from the mansard roofs and dormer windows of the historic Annex homes, the entire upper volume of the main house reads as one vertically-stretched, dormer-set mansard on the street elevation. The mansard overhang provides shading for the large floor-to-ceiling windows and a canopy condition above all three entrance points. On the courtyard-facing elevations, balconies are carved into the sloping roofs of the main house and laneway suite; providing private exterior spaces for each unit. Four: working within building code restrictions that limit openings on the side facades, Annex House augments access to natural light by introducing an 8-metre-long skylight above a triple-height space, with openings on the adjacent rooms to maximize light penetration. Similarly, lightwells at both ends of the lower unit draw daylight into the basement-level spaces. 

The cladding combines conventional brick on the lower levels with cover brick on the sloped upper storeys. Although the cover brick and the regular brick were produced from the same clay, the unit shape of the upper-storey cladding creates a similar effect to timber siding, making it appear lighter—more roof-like—than the masonry base below.

Annex House is now in construction and scheduled for summer 2025 completion. The submission notes that with minor modifications to the main house’s floor plan, the project’s current three-unit configuration could be converted into four or five units.

CLIENT Withheld | ARCHITECT TEAM Harry MX Wei | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Contact & Continuity Inc. | STRUCTURAL Kieffer Structural Engineering | MECHANICAL Zaab Consulting | PLANNING Galbraith & Associates | AREA 300 m2 | BUDGET Withheld | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION Spring 2025

As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazine

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