Architecture: Modernist Looks, Cottage-Country Vibe
Originally published in the Globe and Mail. Read the full text here.
In spring 2015, Daniel and Stephanie Artenosi finished construction on their dream house, a stately red-brick abode modelled on the heritage homes in their King City neighbourhood, 50 kilometres north of Toronto.
The backyard was considerably less ordered. It was formless and weedy. Its most distinctive feature: a natural slope at the back, offering expansive views onto the neighbour's bungalow. At dusk, floodlights from the adjacent property would illuminate the Artenosis' living room.
The couple hired Michael Amantea, principal of Toronto-based Amantea Architects, to bring elegance and order to the yard – and to make it transcend its surroundings. The Artenosis, who have two young children, wanted dining and swimming amenities but not what Ms. Artenosi, a high-school drama teacher, calls "your typical cabana." (Think: lagoon-shaped pool, unremarkable stone sheds and a shower next to a tree.) They love cooking and entertaining, a proclivity Mr. Artenosi attributes to their Italian heritage. For them, a backyard wouldn't be a backyard unless you could roast marshmallows and bake wood-fired pizzas in it.
Mr. Amantea created Clearview Pavilion, a suite of streamlined forms made of warm, natural materials. The language is rectilinear modernism, but the vibe is pure cottage country. It is a backyard in which Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Neil Young would both feel at ease. Explore it, and you'll find surprising touches: subject rhymes and repeating motifs.
Mr. Artenosi estimates that the family spent $400,000 on the project, although the bill could have been $100,000 higher had he not installed himself as the general contractor – a terrible idea in theory, although one that paid off handsomely in this case. Most clients who GC their own builds will find themselves overwhelmed and exhausted; what they save in money they'll lose in sanity.
Mr. Artenosi, a municipal and land-use-planning lawyer, is the rare person who can pull this stunt off. He likes learning by doing and has a higher-than-average tolerance for logistical minutiae and manual labour. During the build (which happened, on and off, over the course of a year), he spent nights sourcing materials online and days laying rebar or hauling stone.
"Even though I didn't know what I needed to do," says Mr. Artenosi, "I knew that I needed to do it right. I reached out to people I could trust and followed their advice to the letter."
This is an excerpt. Read the full text here.