Haus A36 / Baukultur/ca

Architects: baukultur/ca
Area: Approximately 5,350 ft² (4,800 ft² principal building and 550 ft² laneway house)
Year: 2026
Photography: Jack Gifford Photography, baukultur/ca
Lead Architect: Felix Leicher, Founder and Principal Designer
Design Team: Felix Leicher, Clayton Zdan
Contractor: Blackrock Design Ltd.
Structural Engineering: Pimelite Building
Grading: Pimelite Building
Mechanical Design: Fuzion HVAC Design
Materials: Fine-textured white stucco, locally sourced white cedar, black-framed windows, wood, integrated millwork
Project Type: Two-unit multiplex with an owner-occupied residence and a separate laneway house
City: Playter Estates, North Riverdale, Toronto, Ontario
Country: Canada

Haus A36, designed by Toronto-based residential design studio baukultur/ca, is a three-home development that explores how small-scale residential intensification can accommodate different households within an established urban neighborhood. Located on a 25-by-120-foot lot in Toronto’s Playter Estates, the project comprises two three-story family residences with finished basements and a separate one-bedroom laneway house positioned above two parking spaces. The approximately 4,800-square-foot principal building incorporates eight bedrooms and two home offices, with its two residences organized around a shifting party wall that enables distinct spatial arrangements within a shared structure. A separate 550-square-foot laneway dwelling introduces additional accommodation while preserving a mature beech tree in the rear yard. The architectural composition responds to the neighborhood’s traditional residential character through layered roof planes, recessed entrances, deep overhangs, and a restrained exterior palette of white stucco, stained cedar, and black-framed windows. Combining owner-occupied accommodation with independent rental opportunities, Haus A36 demonstrates how a single residential property can support long-term housing flexibility, multigenerational use, and additional density without departing from the scale of its surrounding streetscape.

Haus A36 originated from a young family’s determination to remain in the Toronto neighborhood where they had established their daily lives. Having outgrown their existing townhouse, the owners faced the prospect of relocating away from familiar schools, friends, public transportation, and community connections. The availability of a nearby property presented an alternative. Working with Felix Leicher, founder and principal designer of baukultur/ca, the family began exploring how a new residential development could meet their changing spatial requirements while generating sufficient rental income to make construction financially viable.

“The family wanted to remain in the neighbourhood, so we began by asking how one property could support that decision,” says Felix Leicher, founder and principal designer of baukultur/ca. “The result is a home shaped around their daily life, together with two additional homes planned as complete places to live.”

Situated on a quiet, tree-lined street within North Riverdale, the property benefits from its proximity to Danforth Avenue and the subway. The design brief extended beyond the creation of a customized family residence to include a second home intended for long-term tenants and an independent laneway dwelling that could accommodate visiting relatives or provide additional rental income. Each residence was conceived as a complete domestic environment, with its own functional requirements and relationship to the wider property.

The principal building contains two ground-oriented family homes, each extending across three stories and a finished basement. A meandering party wall runs through the approximately 22-foot-wide building footprint. Rather than dividing the structure into two conventional rectangular units, this internal boundary allows the plans to interlock where appropriate, distributing available space according to the requirements of each household.

Despite their shared structure, the two residences retain separate entrances, vertical circulation, private rooms, and outdoor areas. This configuration enables the project to accommodate different patterns of occupation within a relatively narrow building envelope while maintaining the independence of both households.

The owners’ residence was developed around the family’s daily routines, with the principal living spaces organized to encourage openness and direct engagement with the rear garden. A generous kitchen anchors the main floor, complemented by a freestanding fireplace. Long interior sightlines, large windows, and integrated storage contribute to the spatial organization, allowing the shared living areas to remain open within the constrained footprint.

The second floor accommodates the children’s bedroom and bathroom, a home office, a guest bedroom with an ensuite bathroom, and laundry facilities. A window seat incorporated into the children’s bedroom provides a smaller, more intimate setting within the private accommodation. The third floor contains the principal suite, which connects to a private deck overlooking the Toronto skyline. This vertical distribution separates the primary bedroom from the communal areas below while providing access to an additional outdoor space.

The adjoining residence was designed with the requirements of a future tenant family in mind. Its layout establishes a distinct domestic arrangement rather than replicating the owners’ home. On the main floor, a freestanding built-in element organizes the interior around a central kitchen, with the living area positioned toward the street and the dining space located one step lower at the rear.

Openings on three sides bring daylight into the residence, while integrated storage, carefully proportioned rooms, and connections to outdoor areas support its intended use as a long-term family home. The design gives particular consideration to privacy and everyday functionality, ensuring that the rental accommodation maintains its own residential identity within the larger development.

A third dwelling occupies the rear of the property, where the laneway house provides a one-bedroom residence above two parking spaces. Its independent arrangement allows extended family members to stay for longer periods without sharing the principal household’s living spaces. When not required for family visits, the accommodation can also function as a rental property.

The laneway house was incorporated into the project from the beginning, allowing its position, access, windows, parking, and building services to be coordinated with the principal residence and surrounding outdoor areas. An existing mature beech tree informed this planning process, with the rear-yard arrangement developed to retain the tree while accommodating the garden and additional dwelling.

The resulting site organization integrates three separate homes, two parking spaces, and private outdoor areas within a single residential property. By considering these components together, the design establishes a relationship between the buildings and landscape rather than treating the laneway structure as an isolated addition.

The exterior architecture draws on the residential character of Playter Estates, where detached and semi-detached houses dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries establish a streetscape of front porches, varied rooflines, and individual building expressions. Haus A36 responds to this context through its massing and façade composition rather than reproducing historical architectural details. Layered roof planes, deep overhangs, and recessed entrances articulate the principal building, introducing variations in depth and shadow across its exterior. The composition distinguishes the two residences while maintaining a consistent architectural language throughout the shared structure.

Fine-textured white stucco defines the primary building volumes and forms part of the exterior insulation assembly. Stained, locally sourced white cedar is used around the entrances and recessed façade planes, introducing material contrast and emphasizing the building’s layered composition. Black-framed windows establish a consistent rhythm across the two principal homes. Inside, the material palette combines warm wood, white walls, restrained trim, and integrated millwork. These elements provide a consistent background for the spatial arrangements, with daylight, proportion, and movement between rooms informing the interior experience. The approach reflects the studio’s emphasis on considering residential architecture and interior design as interconnected aspects of a single project.

Alongside its architectural development, Haus A36 was planned within the applicable zoning permissions and proceeded without an application to Toronto’s Committee of Adjustment. This provided a direct approval path for the three-home arrangement while accommodating the site’s parking requirements, private outdoor spaces, and existing rear-yard tree.

The additional residences were also essential to the financial strategy underlying the project. Following completion, the second family home was leased within one week of being listed, while the laneway dwelling has accommodated both extended-family visits and rental use. These functions support the owners’ original objective of remaining in their established neighborhood while providing independent housing for other occupants.

Haus A36 illustrates how multiplex development can address several residential needs through a coordinated architectural approach. The project combines a customized owner-occupied home, a separate long-term family residence, and flexible accommodation for extended family or tenants without treating the additional dwellings as incidental spaces.

Through its organization of independent residences within a shared urban property, the development demonstrates an approach to residential intensification grounded in the practical requirements of everyday life. Its significance lies in the ability to accommodate multiple households and changing patterns of occupation while maintaining the domestic scale and established character of its Toronto setting.