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A Roncy Addition Irons Out a Family’s Hectic Routine

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Galley House, Regio & Bauer make backward progress with this open concept addition to a Victorian home

The overlapping morning routines in this Ronscesvalles home meant that someone always had to shower in their basement. Add to that an overburdened rear entrance and a cramped upstairs bedroom, and it was time to call in architectural designers Reigo & Bauer – masters of flow – who reinvented the cramped Victorian as the more spacious Galley House.

Galley House - Open concept addition - Regio & Bauer

Outside the Galley House, a preserved portion of the original brick wall meets the 53-square-metre addition’s fresh cladding of metal tiles – black for the first storey and white above. “By going two-tone, we soften the structure’s verticality,” explains co-principal Merike Bauer. The addition also enabled the creation of a new rear entrance at grade, with internal steps leading up to the living spaces and down to storage, connected by a mudroom area at the intermediary level. This results in a sightline from the kitchen, along the dining table, directly to the yard—one of several internal gestures that create the illusion of more space.

Galley House - Open concept addition - Regio & Bauer

Inside, an open-concept back mudroom addition at grade creates a new mid-level, with its sliding glazed door spotlighting a spacious new basement staircase. Up a half-storey, the revamped dining room now sits beneath a double-height ceiling, with a second-storey window slanted for targeted illumination.

Regio & Bauer

The folded roofline of the addition also offers a tree-top view from the upper-floor window, instead of a view of the neighbouring property, making the home feel even more expansive and private. Continue the Galley House ascent, and a curved balcony upstairs sweeps past this angular corner en route to an expanded back bedroom. The net result: every family member’s day starts off right.

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A new development series by Collecdev Markee and Batay-Csorba Architects reimagines Toronto’s housing with purpose-built rentals

Like many North American cities, Toronto is in the midst of a housing crisis. With high living costs, limited affordable supply, and an ever-growing population, finding a place to live has become increasingly difficult if not impossible. While single-family homes and high-rise condo units abound, other housing types—like duplexes, triplexes, and low- to mid-rise apartment buildings—are few and far between. But there does seem to be some hope on the horizon as the city has begun to change its zoning bylaws to accommodate and expedite the building of these exact “missing middle” typologies.

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