Add To Collection

Echo House

Echo House

Ottawa, Canada

Add To Collection

Other Projects by Kariouk Architects

Add To Collection

Cross-Laminated-Timber Cottage

Add To Collection

Verval Ltée Conference Facility

Add To Collection

Echo House

Ottawa, Canada

Firm

Kariouk Architects

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2009

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

Photos

Photolux Studio/Christian Lalonde (24), Kariouk Architects (7)

Echo: noun; "A sympathetic or identical response, as to sentiments expressed; a lingering trace or effect"That the house had scarcely been changed since it was originally constructed was both a virtue and a challenge that enabled design opportunities. The footprint of the house is small (approximately seven-hundred square feet). It was therefore not possible to create a loft-like setting on the ground floor that seemed simultaneously open and provided the required distinct work/living spaces. The house was re-envisaged as a vertical loft - an open, four-storey volume reaching from the basement to the ceiling of the new roof. The new main level and former basement level are opened to each other by a wide stair that highlights views to the home's original stone foundation walls. Hence, the former Victorian main living level, once segregated into four separate rooms, is now made open and spacious. The small, original windows are replaced with large windows both at the front and rear of the new parlour, visually extending that space into the front yard and the back yard, and, finally, enabling views from the back yard (all the way through the house) to views of the Rideau Canal.The remaining spatial requirements included very private spaces: a study that could accommodate several thousand books, a den, and a master-bedroom suite. In order to achieve the seemingly paradoxical request for a loft-like home but with spaces as private as the former Victorian ones, the study, den, and "book vault" are designed as distinct volumes suspended inside the larger, four-storey volume. Because these volumes "float" high up within the now-emptied shell of the original house, they achieve the required visual privacy from the parlour below and the street outside (despite the expanded areas of windows). Though these spaces are small, they are bright and airy and seem large since they all have visual access to both windows and other interior spaces of the home.The very most private areas of the redesigned house (such as closets, toilets, and stairs) are arranged along the south wall of the house and are shielded by a three-storey hickory "modesty screen." At the top level, the master-bedroom suite cantilevers over the front facade and yard and also appears as a distinct, floating volume, and forms a canopy over the entry. In this way, the former attic space of the Victorian house is redesigned to provide for light and views where none existed before in the original home, and due to its elevated position, it does so while maintaining privacy. At the initial request of the clients, this renovation allows the values of a bygone era to be given voice in the current era.

Product Spec Sheet

Were your products used?

Join as a manufacturer to add your products.

Collaborating Firms

Was your firm involved? Add it now.

Team

Were you involved? Add yourself.

Echo House

Ottawa, Canada

Other Projects by Kariouk Architects

Sorelle House

m.o.r.e. CLT Cabin

Forest Retreat

DASH Home

PEAK Caribbean Residence

A Bower House

Cross-Laminated-Timber Cottage

Verval Ltée Conference Facility

Stacey-Turley Residence

Westboro Home

Redeveloper Apartment

Cemetery Marker

Chelsea Hill House

Hill-Maheux Cottage

Hurteau-Miller Cottage

Echo House

Ottawa, Canada

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team

Keep Exploring Architizer by Creating a Free Account or Logging in.

Echo House

Ottawa, Canada

Other Projects by Kariouk Architects

Sorelle House

m.o.r.e. CLT Cabin

Forest Retreat

DASH Home

PEAK Caribbean Residence

A Bower House

Cross-Laminated-Timber Cottage

Verval Ltée Conference Facility

Stacey-Turley Residence

Westboro Home

Redeveloper Apartment

Cemetery Marker

Chelsea Hill House

Hill-Maheux Cottage

Hurteau-Miller Cottage

Echo House

Ottawa, Canada

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team