Dream home: Toronto home embraces nature in the city with Prairie-style design

In midtown Toronto sits an excellent — and unlikely — example of Prairie-style architecture with its nature-oriented traits further enhanced by biophilic design.

Which is saying something, considering the big city-location of the home in the Bennington Heights neighbourhood.

“Biophilic design describes a conscious effort to link the built environment to the natural world, through various sensory experiences including sight, sound, touch and smell,” saidHeather Dubbeldam, principal of Dubbeldam Architecture and Design in Toronto , and the home’s architect.

The two-storey, 3,200-sq.-ft. residence embraces the principles of craftsmanship and simplicity that belong to Prairie-style design, a movement of the late-19th and early-20th century that included architects like Frank Lloyd Wright. Garden Circle House is filled with light from tall windows and a large skylight hovering over the stunning, solid mahogany staircase. It looks out on and absorbs the sounds of the water and biodiversity outside — to the delight of its owners and their children.

Garden Circle’s main floor includes the common living spaces, while the second floor has four bedrooms and three ensuite bathrooms. The basement includes a rec room, TV area, gym, sauna, steam room and bathroom. There’s a lap pool in the back yard as well as a hot tub and firepit on the small patio.

Building materials include brick, wood and stone on the exterior. The entryway and soffits are detailed with Brazilian massaranduba boards, which complement the mahogany windows and front door. The staircase is solid mahogany and the outdoor decking is Brazilian teak.

Garden Circle House, completed in 2019, took 20 months to design and build.

Heather Dubbeldam answers a few questions about Garden Circle House:

Can you explain Biophilic design and how it relates to the house?

The design of Garden Circle House draws upon a number of biophilic design strategies, including biomorphic forms like curves; natural materials like wood, brick and stone; textured surfaces; the integration of natural light at many levels through the house from the skylight above, floor to ceiling windows, hidden windows up high; lush landscaping visible through the windows; views and sounds of water; and more.

An additional connection to the natural world is established through the multiple green roofs that can be seen from all of the bedrooms.

What was the owners’ goal for this home?

The owners wanted a home that was naturally-inspired, filled with natural light, sustainable and healthy for them to live in, and one that brought nature in.

Because this is their final home, they were interested in longevity, increased comfort and well-being, along with long-term savings due to lower energy usage. For energy saving, we maximized the use of passive sustainable strategies through design — natural ventilation, passive cooling, daylighting, solar gain, green roofs — and integrated them with efficient active sustainable systems such as in-floor radiant heating, high velocity cooling, low-flow plumbing fixtures and high-efficiency LED lighting.

The owners also enjoy early-to-mid-20th-century Prairie style architecture, so they asked us to incorporate the spirit of buildings of that time. We included an architectural language of low-slung, horizontal shifting planes and overhangs, and an earthy, natural material palette of brick, wood and stone. Buff and grey-toned brick conveys a sense of solidity while Western red cedar boards and mahogany-framed windows complement with the warmth of wood.

The stairway is a central element and focal point in the home. Was it inspired by the staircase at the Art Gallery of Ontario?

No, not at all — although we do really love the stairs at the AGO, it was not the inspiration for this project. The curved stair was a request from the owner and another way to incorporate biophilic principles in the design, a more organic form wrapped in warm natural materials.

This central staircase is crafted of solid mahogany and features open risers and a curved balustrade that emulates natural organic forms, inviting the hand to run along its sculptural contours.

What challenges did you have in building the home?

The lot is on a cul-de-sac and is wide but not very deep, so it made the orientation of the house and incorporation of a decent backyard challenging. We solved this in the design.