Kirkwood Stone Gables
The double stone gables peer out over the filtering screen made of recycled “z-girt” metal of this semi-detached home on Kirkwood Avenue. The busier nature of the street provided an opportunity to layer thresholds harmonized with the material palette of the home. The audio and visual disruption of the street is filtered through the screen to the terraces behind, allowing for additional semi-private space that extends from the bedroom through its’ floor-to-ceiling windows that capture natural light while being obscured from view for optimal privacy. The consideration of the buildings’ relationship to the street is further expressed through the capitalization of the depth of the lot. This allows the home to nestle back into the property and creates an opportunity to articulate the length of the facade with stone and bronze siding. The inset attached garage for each unit also provides another acoustic cushion, which allows the primary living areas to be oriented towards the backyard calm.
Through these thresholds and arrangement of spaces the arrival sequence of each unit provides a unique transition from the entrance into each unit. Once inside, a hallway leads towards a central foyer; bound by two archways and bathed in light from the double height window. Each foyer also contains a central stair and allows for soft light to travel in all directions, including towards the rear and towards views of the backyard, as well as to the upper floor that houses three generous bedrooms and two baths.
Continuing through the second archway, the kitchen, dining and living spaces share the natural light of the foyer, along with an expansive opening to the rear deck and yard; another moment where the interior spaces extend into the adjacent outdoors. Here, the sounds of the city fall away, and a stillness is found.
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