Casa Lupo is a private residence crafted with the ambition to fully encompass the variety of functional and programmatic needs of a growing family of five, while sensitively responding to the natural form and features of the existing landscape. The objective was to create harmonious connections and well-defined moments in the relationship between the site as found and the life of the home.

The project is situated on a 15-acre parcel of countryside in southern Ontario’s rural community of Caledon - within the ecologically significant region of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

Our process began with a careful exploration of the site’s inherent attributes - characterized by its main boundary elements. To the northeast, a protected woodlot covers more than two-thirds of the property, providing a lush, tree-lined edge. The remaining parcel is composed of two prominent hills - one bordering the road, and the other adjacent to the woodlot. Between the hilltops, a valley gently descends diagonally to a natural dry pond at the site’s low point. These distinctive features provided the basis for the placement, orientation, and configuration of the residence.

Two rectangular wings - amenity & living - are burrowed between the two hills, near the west corner of the property. The expanded L-shaped form opens to the interior of the site, turning it’s back to the road and neighboring properties. This placement limits disruption to the site and preserves most of the property to be enjoyed as a protected visual amenity.

The overall building form is composed of a series of continuous datums that sweep and by-pass each other to create a sense of weighted horizontality – an overlapping and unfolding building form with curated views, moments of compression and expansion, and artfully detailed changes in materiality.

The plan responds to the programmatic needs of the family while taking into account optimal solar orientation. The full height windows along the second-floor corridor allow ambient light to penetrate the core of the ground floor below. Planted roof overhangs on the south end of the building provide solar shading and higher western walls limit direct evening light. Aluminum fins on the lightwell above the family room are purposefully oriented to minimize glare within the family room below. Additional to these passive strategies, the mechanical system of the home is supported by a highly efficient building envelope, geothermal system, and radiant floor heating.

Casa Lupo thoughtfully, and strategically, integrates with the existing landscape features to provide a spatial framework that will heighten one’s appreciation and experience of the site, while preserving the legibility of the property’s natural character.

BURROW

A series of terraced gardens and planted balconies soften the perimeter edges and act as thresholds between the house, natural landscape, and recreational amenities.

LA FAMIGLIA E TUTTO

Family is everything. Primary to the programmatic development of the project is the requirement to support the day-to-day needs of a growing household, to foster a sense of connectedness between the inhabitants, and allow for large gatherings with extended family.

AN INTIMATE CONNECTION TO THE DISTANT VIEW

Deep roof overhangs bring focus to the woodlot, sky and horizon. Planted terraces soft the harsh summer sun and crop out the foreground view of the recreational amenities.