Ontario, Canada

Category:            Restorations/Renovations
Year:                2023
Architects:          Orangeink Design Inc.
Lead Architect:      Tony Diodati 
General Contractor:  Structure Corp.
Client:              Private
Photographers:       Scott Norsworthy 
 

The modernization of this 1960s-era bungalow began with a commitment to preserve and enhance the home’s existing “good bones” while transforming it into a contemporary forever home for a local couple. Located on a heavily wooded 105-foot by 600-foot lot in Mississauga’s Lorne Park neighbourhood, approximately 25 kilometres from downtown Toronto, the home is set deep within the site along the upper edge of a ravine overlooking Lornewood Creek.

The property’s remarkable natural setting, combined with strict conservation regulations that prohibited expansion on three sides of the dwelling, demanded a design approach rooted in thoughtful adaptation rather than extensive addition.

Originally consisting of four bedrooms, three bathrooms, formal living spaces, an indoor pool, and an attached double garage, the project sought to create a more open and connected environment with three bedrooms, expanded wellness spaces, and a variety of indoor and outdoor areas for both everyday living and entertaining.

The existing floor plan provided a strong foundation and required only strategic modifications. The bedroom wing was reconfigured to create two bedrooms with private en-suites, while the primary suite remained in its secluded location. A new entry sequence improved privacy, and an expanded ensuite and dressing area were achieved by extending the garage volume to create a buffer between the bedroom and service areas.

A defining intervention was the relocation of the staircase. Previously positioned beside the kitchen, the new stair aligns with the front entry and frames a direct visual connection through the home to the ravine beyond. A 13-square-metre living green wall rises beside the stairs from a freshwater pond below, supplied by a concealed irrigation system. This interior landscape establishes a physical and visual connection to the surrounding forest while enhancing the quality of the indoor environment.

The kitchen, dining, and living areas remained in their original locations but were transformed through subtraction rather than expansion. Interior walls were removed, the fireplace repositioned, and the kitchen reoriented to engage with the newly unified space. The original low ceilings were replaced with varied roof forms and increased ceiling heights, allowing daylight to penetrate deep into the interior and creating a more expansive spatial experience.

Conservation restrictions that prohibited traditional decks, terraces, and projections into the ravine became a catalyst for innovation. Rather than extending outward, outdoor amenities were carefully integrated within the existing building envelope. The former indoor pool room was transformed by removing portions of the exterior walls and dividing the space between an indoor fitness room and a covered four-season retreat with a hot tub overlooking the forest floor.

A private balcony was carved from the primary bedroom, while a rooftop terrace above the suite creates a treehouse-like experience within the canopy. Carefully articulated roof forms provide privacy from the street while opening expansive views toward the ravine and treetops.
The arrival experience was similarly reimagined to support the owners’ desire for informal social gatherings at the front of the house.

A courtyard was created between the home and the surrounding landscape, enclosed overhead by the mature tree canopy. An elevated wooden boardwalk, paired with a linear roof element, defines the courtyard’s perimeter and establishes a gradual transition from the winding driveway to the entrance. Supported on galvanized steel beams and helical piles, the structure lightly rests on the landscape, preserving the existing topography while extending toward the ravine as a dramatic viewing platform.

The commitment to the home’s original character also informed the material strategy. Brick salvaged from demolished portions of the existing structure was cleaned and reincorporated into the design, reducing waste while maintaining a tangible connection to the building’s history. Paired with new shou sugi ban cladding, the restrained material palette flows from exterior to interior, dissolving conventional boundaries between architecture and nature.

Through careful intervention rather than wholesale transformation, the project demonstrates how an inward-looking bungalow can become a light-filled contemporary home that embraces its landscape, responds creatively to its limitations, and celebrates the enduring qualities of its original architecture.