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Three Modern Brick Houses with Lighter-Than-Air Facades

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In the facades of three light-filled modern homes, red brick building material is a blockbuster

One of Toronto’s most recognizable typologies – red brick – is being revisited. In residential neighbourhoods, where infills mediate between existing house styles and cutting-edge design, brick is an experienced diplomat. (Especially where sceptical neighbours are concerned).

Brick houses aren’t everyone’s cup of tea though. Take the traditional Victorian dwellings in old neighbourhoods like the Annex and Cabbagetown that are gloriously textured on the outside, but period-drama gloomy within. Dispelling the shadows is a new generation of brick houses — designed by such architecture firms as Gabriel Fain, Batay-Csorba and KPMB — that let light shine through their solid facades.

In this series, writer Amrit Phull tours three magnificent modern brick houses that champion this age-old building block. Click on the homes below to reveal their light-filled interiors.

modern brick houses - Gabriel Fain Architects Brick Cantilever Home Toronto

Photo by Dylan Tedaldi

A Brick Cantilever Shakes Up a Quiet Street

Gabriel Fain Architects add a cantilever to elevate a brick home’s living space and preserve a neighbour’s parkland view. Its impressive size maximizes interior floor area, creates space for a carport and draws the eyes up, up and away from the main-floor living space.

KPMB’s Thornwood House Draws Outside the Lines

On a pie-shaped lot, KPMB composes a modern brick and steel house according to the Golden Ratio. Midnight-hued Norman-style brick and terracotta cladding reference the masonry heritage of Rosedale, while perforated steel screens and terracotta baguettes balance privacy with light. Inside, treetop views and airy corridors connect the bright interior to the surrounding greenery, reflecting the client’s fascination with phi.

Batay-Csorba Architects Bring Dappled Light to Parkdale

Batay-Csorba Architects add patterned screens to a Parkdale duplex inspired by cloud-gazing. Reclaimed red brick masonry, angled roofs, and black fascias nod to the heritage streetscape, while intricate two-storey wood screens introduce a playful modern twist. These patterned brise-soleils, crafted from thermally treated Nova Scotia pine, create dappled light by day and lantern-like glows by night, blending whimsy with privacy in this dense downtown neighbourhood.

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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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