Ravine House by Orangeink Design
Ravine House is a house in Mississauga, Canada, designed by Orangeink Design in 2023. The program involved the modernization of a 1960’s era bungalow that consisted of four bedrooms, three bathrooms, kitchen, dining, living room, an indoor pool, basement walkout to a ravine and an attached double car garage.
Modern Transformation of 1960’s Bungalow
The program involved the modernization of a 1960’s era bungalow that consisted of four bedrooms, three bathrooms, kitchen, dining, living room, an indoor pool, basement walkout to a ravine and an attached double car garage. A key priority was to design a space that was comfortable and intimate for the family yet flexible and inviting for entertaining of guests. The location is a heavily treed lot measuring 105ft x 600ft (32 x 183 feet), located in the Lorne Park neighbourhood in Mississauga, 25km (15 miles) from downtown Toronto.
Programme Brief Calls For Key Transformations
The existing ground floor plan worked well for the new homeowners requiring only minor adjustments. The existing bedroom wing containing three bedrooms and one washroom was reconfigured to accommodate two bedrooms and two ensuite bathrooms. The existing stair was relocated away from the kitchen area and now sits directly in line with the front entry offering a view onto the ravine below. The new stair is host to a 140 sq.ft (13 sqm) green wall extending from the stair landing up to the ceiling. At the bottom of the stair, a freshwater pond was installed to actively feed the green wall with a discreet drip irrigation system. This green wall not only compliments the adjacent natural environment but also enhances indoor air quality throughout for all occupants.
Community-Focused Outdoor Spaces
Another key aspect to this design arose from the homeowner’s interest in hosting informal social gatherings at the front of the house. This request also offered an opportunity to re-evaluate the path leading to the front door from the driveway area. The team settled on creating a courtyard using the dwelling and ravine as its outer boundaries, while the surrounding tree canopy would act as its natural terminus above. Defining the outer edge of the courtyard is an elevated boardwalk with long ribbon-like roof of matching dimension.
Local Conservation Authority Guidelines Restrict Expansion
The location is a heavily treed lot measuring 105ft x 600ft (32 x 183 feet), located in the Lorne Park neighbourhood in Mississauga, 25km (15 miles) from downtown Toronto. The home is set 250ft (76 m) back from the street, accessible via a long winding driveway and situated along the upper edge of the ravine offering views down onto Lornewood Creek below. A key challenge was existing local conservation authority guidelines that prevented any expansion of the building footprint on three side of the dwelling (rear and two sides). The restrictive conservation measures surrounding development on site forced the team to re-evaluate our assumptions on outdoor amenity spaces. No ground plane additions were permitted on three sides of the dwelling as well, no horizontal projections beyond the building envelope were allowed into the ravine with the only exception being a modest allowance for roof projections. Our initial ideas of decks, patios, balconies etc required a re-think, therefore a decision was made to attempt to position these amenities within the building footprint where possible.
Link of Materials Between Indoor and Outdoor
Lastly, the desire to build upon the home’s existing ‘good bones’ extended also into the use of exterior cladding materials. The team carefully collected and cleaned brick from portions of demolished walls with the goal of reusing the masonry and minimizing waste. A design goal of keeping the material palette on the interior and exterior as simple and consistent as possible lead to the decision to bring the reclaimed brick together with new shou sugi ban charred cedar siding into the home effectively blurring the lines between program spaces inside and out.
Rethinking Amenity Spaces
Careful space planning created pockets of outdoor space on all levels. Walls were removed in a dark, climate-controlled pool room, transforming this space into a 4 season, serene patio perched just above the forest floor. A primary bedroom with only the essentials in terms of furniture provided an opportunity to carve out a small portion and effectively creating a negative corner in the room, allowing for a small private balcony offering views across the ravine. Extending the dwellings roofline beyond the double storey space, yet still fully within the building footprint, provided the opportunity to create a treehouse like space above the primary bedroom area. Varying roof heights along the front façade offers some privacy to this rooftop deck from street side onlookers while a generous open rear elevation provides views across the treetops.
Photography courtesy of Orangeink Design
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