As many of you know, Toronto currently allows “laneway suites” across the entire city on an as-of-right basis. What this means is that no variances or special planning permissions are generally required to build. Assuming you meet the by-law, you can go straight to a… Read More
Daniel Foch, Daniel Clark, and Adam Darvay recently stopped by Mackay Laneway House to film a last-minute video tour before the new tenants move in. They had quite the rig setup (see above). There was also a drone flying around that is not pictured here.… Read More
Eleven years and a few setbacks later and we now have a completed laneway house. As Bill Gates once said, “most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” Construction is all finished up and… Read More
The drywall started this week at Mackay Laneway House. This is a fun part of the construction process because it is that moment in time where, very quickly, the space transforms from a full on construction site to something that starts to resemble a livable… Read More
Here’s a weekly round up of links and articles that you may find interesting. The topics cover the sorts of things that we usually talk about on this blog. The latest Mackay Laneway House update is now live on the Globizen Journal. The ground floor… Read More
Well, it only took 11 years. I still remember the first time I walked into Etobicoke Civic Centre and showed the lady at the counter my design for a laneway house. She didn’t know what a laneway house was and she couldn’t figure out where… Read More
I just finished going through the work of Studio North. My friend Peter introduced me to them through this Globe article. They are a Calgary-based design-build practice that have completed a number of laneway houses, as well as bigger projects such as this 34 unit… Read More
I posted the following image to Twitter this morning: It’s a map of some of the people who support my proposed laneway house (in midtown Toronto) and have signed their name at lanewaylove.com. To me, this is an incredible demonstration of the kind of broad-based… Read More
In 2015, Studiolada Architectes (of Nancy, France) completed a 117 square meter home for a retired couple. On the firm’s website they call the project: Réalisation d’une maison individuelle à Baccarat. Here are two photos (1 exterior and 1 interior) via the architects: Most of the… Read More
The CBC published a piece this morning on my laneway house proposal. The subheadline: Real estate developer believes time is right to build a laneway house he planned five years ago. It’s true. As many of you already know, this proposal has been in the… Read More
