What was once a coach house in a secluded field in Thornbury, Ontario has been spectacularly transformed by BlackLab Architects Inc. into a 5,000 square foot residence for a family of four. Aiming to create a dwelling in harmony with its site, Toronto-based BlackLAB Architects Inc. amassed rectilinear volumes around the existing structure.

Rusted Corten steel and roughhewn pine cladding on the exterior, introduce a tactile quality to the clean lines of the house’s form, calling to mind outcroppings of rock deposited during the glacial period that shaped this region. A collection of large boulders leading up to the entryway further enhance this effect.

On the south side of the structure, large overhangs were installed over the floor-to-ceiling windows, which play an important role in the dwelling’s passive heating and cooling strategy.

BlackLAB emphasizes client engagement as an integral aspect of their process – but it’s not all that often you come across a client as engaged as this one. Jeremy Gourlay not only built the house himself, but as his company Jeremy Gourlay woodworks specializes in interior finish details, sourced many of the finishes and components for the project.

There’s a sense of dialogue that seems to pervade the project: between building and site, between material and form, and between the client and design team.

Curious to see more by this dynamic firm?

Visit BlackLAB Architects Inc to check out their impressive body of work.

Written by Miranda Corcoran, an Industrial Design and Digital Media student at OCAD University