Category: Project Details

+ A GARDEN VIEW

The existing architecture was traditional Toronto Georgian. The garden was designed to fit into the traditional setting yet remain contemporary through materials such as sandblasted concrete and slate, clean architectural lines, and a naturalized planting scheme.

+ LOOKING THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE

The mathematical formula for an ellipse gives you the least amount of circumference for the most amount of interior area. In a garden where space is limited, this geometry becomes an efficient tool for organizing space and accommodating the client needs.

The clients were interested in preserving as much open space as possible and at that same time having a splash pool that was both a water feature and a way of cooling off in the hot summer months. The geometry was carried throughout the spatial structure of the garden including the added detail of the garden gate when the client requested a peek hole for the family’s cherished dog.

+ STONE PATH TO THE BAY

Two interventions were made a stone path and wooden boardwalk. Both create a linear spine that connects the various elements (tennis court, gazebo and large entertainment wood deck) of the park like setting of this large waterfront property. The stone path draws the residence to the Bay, while the boardwalk extends the cottage living space into the landscape.

+ A PRAIRIE MEADOW

This is a landscape design for a new farmhouse within the context of an existing 80 acre English landscaped horse farm. The landscape plan included new gates, roads, trellis, perennial gardens and a meadow.

The clients requested a low maintenance planting. In addition, due to well conditions, conservation of water was a high priority.

The concept reminiscent of the Southern Ontario Agricultural Grid, contained elements such as hedgerows, woodlots and a linear orchard. These were defined by the gravel paths, perennial gardens, terraces and a two-acre prairie meadow that surrounded the farmhouse.

The only maintenance requirement for the prairie meadow was that it be mowed over every fall. The first fall flowering was naturally yellow. The second year flowering was predominantly white. There was no premeditated planting scheme.

+ GARDEN TERRACES

This residential lot was atypical, wider and shallower than normal, and presented several challenges: 1) a height differential of 3 meters between entrances 2) a foreshortened view. In addition, the client requested many programmatic elements. A series of terraced stone rectangles made use of both vertical and horizontal space to accommodate the above. The L-shaped swimming pool takes advantage of the wide lot and together with strategic planting extends the view to increase depth.

Award – Best of Canada Design – Canadian Interiors (2007)

+ ELLIPTICAL DRUMLINS

Drumlins are elliptical or ovoid hills composed of rock and glacial till occurring parallel to each other in clusters called drumlin fields. This results in a terrain of constant rolling hills. These formations, common in Southern Ontario, are products of glacial activities during the last ice age.

This farmhouse property is situated at the crest of one such rocky mound with the drumlin field extending to the horizon in every direction.  Our goal was to update the site in ways that capitalize on the inherent beauty of the panoramic vista and create areas where the client could navigate the terrain with more ease.

The first intervention is a terrace “cantilevered” over the hillside which extends the interior of the existing house into the landscape while creating a comfortable space to entertain among uninterrupted views.

The terrace walls are built from glacial boulders and reflect the historic stone masonry of the original farmhouse.

The second intervention was to resolve the angular forms of the existing swimming pool with the morphology of the contextual landscape. This was accomplished through re-grading as well as the construction of an elliptical deck. Its form rests harmoniously within the larger field of drumlins.

The remainder of the site was seeded with native wildflower meadow plants such as Asters, Chives, Yarrow, etc. that fit into the surrounding agricultural landscape, and maintain the panoramic views.

+ CANTILEVERED POOL

The topography of the ravine site was challenging. The steeply sloping site naturally stepped down at two levels into the ravine and had very little flat land.

The client requested that the garden maximize the use of space functionally. A series of walls and stairs retained the pool at the lower level which cantilevered out into the ravine. This reinforced the view into the ravine and visually extended the landscape. The slope down to the pool was transformed into a green, lush, sculptural stairway of adjacent terraces.

The upper level was graded into a flat grassy plateau allowing a safe play space for children.

+ ZEN COURTYARD

This contemporary glass and steel addition reaches out to the edge of a steeply wooded ravine hillside. The clients requested that the garden express the Zen-like tranquility and simplicity of the woodland. The terrace and steps were minimal interventions into the ravine. A sports court on the flat land extends the function of the outdoor space into the winter where the family can skate and play hockey at the ravine’s edge.

The edge of the woodland was restored through the addition of native plantings that bring nature even closer to the home.

+ SCULPTURE PLAZA

Elias + was hired to rejuvenate a city sidewalk that had underground parking below. The slab needed repair due to salt damage.

A new Opera House began the process of regeneration of University Avenue, which the city has designated as the AVENUE OF THE ARTS. 200 University is a historic modernist office building designed in the 1960s style by John Parkin.

As part of the regeneration of the avenue and deteriorating parking slab, a sculpture plaza concept was proposed.

New granite pavers defined a platform for art, and enriched the plaza materially. The paving pattern created a dynamic perspective visually lengthening the plaza. A linear row of native red maples and stainless steel planters, create the edges and boundaries of the plaza. They enliven the space and add colour and texture to the stark modern aluminum building. Refinished seating steps generate social interaction and invite community participation.

To increase this participation, we suggested that city art schools contribute to a revolving display of public art pieces.

+ A SERIES OF TERRACES

The Samuel Edelstein Children’s Holocaust Garden honours the memory of children who perished in the holocaust of World War II. The garden elements are not meant to emphasize their loss. Rather they symbolically represent the indomitable spirit of humanity in its ability to conquer adversity.

Above all, it is a garden of celebration and joyous renewal.

The semi-circular stone Plinth surrounded by water is symbolic of the Chuppah, an outdoor trellis covered in flowering vines, where traditional Jewish weddings take place. It will host wedding ceremonies during the summer months.

The Water Wall of Life, the backdrop for the Chuppah Plinth, will flow year round as a symbol of on-going hope; a bronze wall cast in the form of abstract butterflies recalls the poems written by the children of Theresienstadt.

The Orchard of Pear Trees represents fertility and continuity.

The Children’s Learning Concourse is an outdoor terraced classroom with video instruction. It will host the community’s youth as they learn the lessons of history and natural science.

The stone retaining walls represent the Pillars of Humanity where plaques bearing the names of 7 Righteous Gentiles who saved the lives of children are mounted.

The sustainable Prairie Garden is filled with indigenous Canadian perennials, shrubs, and grasses chosen to attract endangered species of butterflies.

The paving stones on the Promenade, inscribed with the names and hometowns of the children will be interwoven through all of the elements of the Garden.

The Terraces, Chuppah Plinth, Promenade, Pillars of Humanity, Water Wall of Life and Orchard, will welcome all the guests of the Synagogue family – extending hospitality to the community in a spirit of tolerance and mutual understanding.