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Colorful Modern Home in the Glebe

I spotted an interesting modern home in the Glebe not too long ago. It is a nice contrast to the typical mini farmhouses that seem to be so popular in Ottawa. This one stands tall with a unique angled roof and seems to have more balance proportions. The landscape in the front seem to be maintenance free, while still having personality.
What makes this house modern to me is its simplicity and the attention to detail in its design. Throughout the height of the building, the width of windows on the left are the same and perfectly aligned. The width of the windows on the right are also the same and perfectly aligned with the main door as well. This is much better than some buildings I've seen with windows of various sizes, placed at various heights on the same floor like this one (I don't get it).

Color is another interesting aspect in this building: yellow and red. Whoever decided on the colors of the facade was not afraid of colors. Having the red band on the building makes an interesting statement. It attracts the eye and acts as a focal point. It also breaks the monochromatic aspect of the building. Notice also the lamps along the wall carefully placed on either side of the red band. This must create an interesting look at night.
The angled roof is also atypical and changes the shape of the building so it doesn't look like a box. I love the metal sheet on the side but I don't get the tall skinny window at the bottom of it. It seems to be an after thought. Assuming this window is in the same room than the window adjacent to it, I would have eliminated that window altogether. Nevertheless, this building is a nice surprise on the street and definitely gets noticed.

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I just found out that this house was designed by Dreesen Architect. The building is "an adaptive reuse of portions of a former house in poor condition to create a three story single family home with three bedrooms, home office, open room/entertainment space and finished basement. Design stands in neighborhood as stunning example of the possibilities of mass-produced off the shelf industrial type material in residential application".

6 comments:

  1. Cool house :-) What road is it on??

    I think that skinny window is actually in that metal jut-out and faces the street.

    There's a really cool modern house at the corner of Fairmont & Sherwood in the Civic Hospital area. This house reminds me a bit of that one.

    Kelly

    Kelly

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  2. It's on Gordon I think. I'll have to check out that other house at some point. Thanks Kelly!

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  3. There's some interesting modern houses (including some great ones from the 40s!) near St.Pauls University. I actually have a flickr account with photos for Ottawa houses that are unique - maybe we should create a flickr group!

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  4. @ginger: Great idea! I just opened a flickr group called
    Modern Ottawa - Unique Architecture
    . Feel free to add you photos.

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  5. I think this is one of the coolest modern houses in Ottawa. Very sleek and colourful!

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  6. Thanks for all the positive feedback on the design! The owner of this house was a great person to work with and really supportive of the creative process.

    Toon Dreessen
    Dreessen Architect Inc.

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