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JOHN BROWN is the editor of theslowhome.com and the founder of the Slow Home Movement. He is a registered architect, real estate broker and Professor of Architecture at the University of Calgary.

Toronto Modernism


Hillhurst House

Elevation Detail

Open Riser Stair

Living Room

View of Garden

Library

Living Room Credenza

Streetscape
Hillhurst

Toronto,  Canada East

Kohn Shnier Architects

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A contemporary urban house for a spiritual family is at once open and modern, discreet and private. Entered from the lowest level, one ascends to a public floor unencumbered by traditional circulation. Light is fed vertically through the house by a skylight located at the top of a three storey stair space.

The open flow of the main level is contrasted by the simple logic of the sleeping rooms, arranged off a double loaded corridor terminated by axial views of the surrounding context.

The house privileges family and study. Each room is equally a retreat and a venue for encounter and discussion.







We believe that our homes and neighborhoods should be healthy, vibrant places that uplift the spirit and gracefully fit our needs. We call for an end to poor construction, bad design, misleading marketing, unfair lending practices and environmental neglect in the housing industry. We acknowledge our collective responsibility to create CLOSE, SIMPLE, LIGHT places to live that leave a positive legacy for future generations.

provides design focused information that homeowners can use to improve the quality of how and where they live. It takes its name from the slow food movement which arose as a reaction to the processed food industry. The sprawl of cookie cutter housing that surrounds us is like fast food - standardized, homogenous, and wasteful. It contributes to a too fast life that is bad for us, our cities, and the environment. In the same way that slow food raises awareness of the food we eat and how these choices affect our lives, Slow Home empowers you to take more control of your home and improve the quality of how you live while reducing your environmental impact and futureproofing the long term investment value of your home.