House in Caledon
| The House in Caledon | |
|---|---|
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| Alternative names | Meadow House |
| General information | |
| Type | Residential |
| Architectural style | Modernist |
| Location | Caledon, Ontario |
| Country | Canada |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Floor area | 4,300 sq ft |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Ian MacDonald |
| Architecture firm | Ian MacDonald Architect |
The House in Caledon, or Meadow House was designed by Ian MacDonald Architect, a Toronto-based firm founded by Canadian architect Ian MacDonald in 1984, which is now well known for its residential projects. The House in Caledon is located in Caledon, Ontario which is 45 minutes north west of Toronto.
The house was commissioned by a family of 4 in 2010 and can be found at the top of a hill at the end of a long winding lane on a 90 acre property, which consists of rolling hills and meadows, as well as an existing house, barn and farmyard.[1] The House is 4300 square feet and was designed with the intent to relate the house to the landscape, the existing historical buildings and to be highly sustainable.[2]
Architectural Style
Views
Ian MacDonald incorporated The House In Caledon with the landscape by sinking the building into the rolling hills of the farmland.[3] This is a sustainable design method where the landscape provides additional insulation for the building. Due to the building being sunken into one of the rolling hills, The House in Caledon not only gains a closer physical connection to the environment but this design choice also acts as a functional visual barrier where the building is not overexposed to the eyes of the public. The remaining three sides of the building open up to provide full views of the property which showcases the meadow, rolling hills and existing farmhouse.[4] These windows were designed in order to not overexpose the meadow which often are considered bare, especially during the harsh exposure to winter seasons. The main living space in the house was designed to be open and light as it contains high ceilings and views of the entire property. Ian MacDonald designed the windows, which at times reach as high as 3.8 meters, to match the scale and perspective of the surrounding meadow thus implementing the ancient Japanese tradition Yohaku-no-bi, which is to leave space for the imagination.[5] Ian MacDonald said that "What visual information you strategically withhold is as important as what you leave in." which is shown in his design choices. The footbridge found between the main entrance and bedrooms contains limited views to the exterior however it is directly below one of the light wells thus providing full natural light to the space.
Materiality
Materials that were used in the construction of The House in Caledon include stone used as a retaining wall around the rolling hills, form-cast or polished concrete used for the foundation, glass used along several walls and within the light wells, white plaster for the interior, white oak for the floors and cabinetry, douglas fir for the unpainted rafters and roof structure, and corrugated steel.[5] The corrugated steel was used to resemble the fabric of the silos and the barns on the site. The main entrance way contains a rough plank-formed concrete wall on one side and a large expanse of glass on the other.[2] Every room within the building opens up to the exposed fir rafters and each of the individual rooms contains contrasting features such as the white plaster walls or contrasting woods such as the quarter-cut white oak flooring and teak dining table and doors.[5]
Sustainability
Green Roof
The House in Caledon was designed with a green roof with the intent to further blend the building into the landscape. The green roof contains the same vegetation as the surrounding meadows[1] and, because the building is sunken into the ground, the green roof is at the same height as the surrounding hills. The green roof provides insulative properties thus reducing the cost of additional heating and cooling. The green roof was also designed to collect the rainwater and divert that water from the house through a series of streams. These streams were designed to establish a walking path around the house and then back into the nearby brooks and stream systems, which then travel to the barn and nearby ponds.[6] The green roof is able to filter and enrich the water that flows into the ponds which benefits and sustains the local vegetation and wildlife.
Active and Passive Strategies
The House in Caledon is equipped with a high efficiency water based geothermal system and locally found materials such as the recycled steel and locally sourced wood.[6] The natural insulative properties of the rolling hills in which The House in Caledon is protected by, provide a reduced need for heating and cooling. Due to MacDonald's geographical positioning of The House in Caledon, the building is naturally sheltered against the harsh weather and climate conditions of Ontario such as the wind, heat, and snow. This reduces the amount of additional fabricated climate conditioning elements that need to be run, making the building more sustainable.
Light Wells
Ian MacDonald introduces natural light within all spaces of the House in Caledon through the use of the open floor plan design combined with the massive front windows and light wells. The amount of natural daylight within the rooms minimizes the necessity for excessive artificial lighting. This access to natural light in combination with the orientation and positioning of the windows allows for the reduction of the building's solar radiation. Additionally, the installed artificial lighting uses high efficiency LEDs. The two light wells on the roof pull light into the center of the house which is where the darkest spaces would be otherwise.[6] Ian MacDonald implemented these light wells in this way so that all of the spaces in the house could achieve a more open and naturally lit environment. During the winter, the low sun shines directly at the monitors’ glazed apertures adding light and warmth.[1] In the summer, the monitors’ forms reflect all but a proportion of the higher sun, reducing the light and heat entering the building. The monitors are also operable, thus providing ventilation and allowing hot air to escape.[1]
Relationships with Nature
Ian MacDonald was able to incorporate a natural stream that connects to a local pond on the site within the design of the House in Caledon. This stream acts as a collection and transportation system for the excess rainwater the green roof cannot absorb. Along the exterior beside the main entrance, there are a series of small pools, which run into the stream, thus inviting the sound of water into the interior of the house which steps down parallel to the interior ramp. A walkway was also designed around the stream to act as a connection point to the already existing old barn. Although the building is sunken into the hill thus restricting the building's access to natural light, the lightwells provide a direct connection to nature through the large amount of sunlight they are able to pull into the building.[5] The green roof also provides a direct connection to nature through the use of local vegetation found on the roof. A similar relationship can be found through the local wooden materials used within the building.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Macdonald, Ian; Carter, Brian (2019). Boundary, Sequence, Illusion. Dalhousie Architectural Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780929112725. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Arban, Tom (2012-07-26). "A peek at architect Ian MacDonald's Caledon craft". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
- ↑ "House in Caledon by Ian MacDonald Architect Inc". Architizer. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
- ↑ Dave (2011-05-25). "House in Caledon by Ian MacDonald Architect". CONTEMPORIST. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Baird, Daniel (January 13, 2011). "Meadow House Points of View".
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Meadow House / Ian MacDonald Architect". ArchDaily. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
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