Laneway: Cross_ Live/Work, 2020
Queen Street West- Tecumseh, Toronto, ON, Canada
Client Profile: Graphic Designer/ Book Cover Designer
29 years old Laoise (lee-sha) is driven by the need to be deluged by art and creativity. As a person of introverted nature, her love for the company of books has taken a professional turn whence she dived into combining design and literature into creating book covers. Following about seven years of experience in that field, she has been able to build for herself a brand image and is easily recognized and favoured amongst that community. Of Irish descent, she has a knack for music and sculptural art of the culture.
Her self-owned loft is celebratory of austere furnishing and decor which is also easily maintained as it only houses her. This furthers her creative air as it is uninterrupted and authoritarian.
Quirks include quick-witted semantics by means of personification and metaphors, she likes to uses them to implement the designs by literal interpretations. She spends a fair amount of time lounging and brainstorming around the residence and snacks between the hours of doodle-work or desktop work. Thereby, her kitchen is amply equipped to cater to that and her sweet- tooth. However, her love for colours and shapes is limited to her designs and does not spillover to the loft more than necessary- just enough to create contrast and appeal.
She aspires to branch out virtually and spends time outsourcing.
Site
First Floor-Live
Second Floor- Live
First Floor- Work
The residence and studio is split by the laneway so that it remains essential to both structures. The former, divided on the ground floor in two parts, faces Richmond St. W and the laneway. The Studio/shop has its entrance directed towards Queen St. W
Exterior
The studio is designed to personify a thick, hardcover book, where the pages materialize as the interior. It is a work-space that also functions for carrying out professionally potential interactions. The posts that run down all the way perpendicularly from the top surface of the structure and descend asymmetrically down the front, mimic the faces of a closed book
Facing the residential section of Richmond St. W, the house front looks like a conventional gabled-roof while it is indeed split into two-sections through the middle, with the right half pushed back to create green space. The roofing slopes are in cross-hatch conflict in the space where the two sections meet. The first half stops where the second begins, to create parking space. Therefore, the aerial view is that of two rectangles meeting at a corner, with a shared wall covering the length of the plot.
The geometry of a simple cross, two conflicting slopes, and half a curve
East Elevation: Live-Work
Ground Level
Two-step entrance leads to the porch equipped with a chair, and some potted plants. Inside the building, the foyer accesses an high-ceilinged, open concept kitchen with a marble-top breakfast bar -with a view of the green-space outside.
Situated next to it is the laundry room adjacent to the storage/mechanical room, both of which are placed beside the sunroom. The common wall shared by both the sections of the house is glass wall at the conjunct, where the part that leads to the next half of the house is through a pivotal glass door. The rest of the glass structure allows view into the parking lot and by extension, the laneway.
The second section of the house comprises of the dining area, and the living area. The couches are placed at the end of the slot, next to the stairs that lead to the second floor.
First Level
Climbing up the staircase opens up the bedroom. The angled section of the prism has a thin part turned into a floor-ceiling glass which allows for a great view and ample amount of sunlight to seep in.
Ahead, is a small balcony that looks over the laneway and can prove to be a great inspiration zone as it has the view of amazing graffiti. The bed is rested against the larger wall and looks to the window, the headrest is spattered with wooden beams that run along the length of the wall.
On the other side of the floor and adjacent to the staircase is the shelving and walk-in closet. Further ahead and to the right is the bathroom equipped with necessities.It is an open-concept floor plan too, so the only walls stand around the enclosure for the mounting steps of the stairs.
Two SquareInch Sketches
Studio: Ground Level
The Studio is multi-purposed. While acting as a space where potential clients come to interact, it is also a work space. The architecture allows for sunlight to enter from the ceiling in panels, creating a patterned shadow onto the floor,
The work desk is equipped with multiple devices and sketchbooks for doodles and design inspirations. Ceiling pendant lights descent to illuminate the desk that is also littered with brushes and pens. The wall behind the couch is a palette and moodboard, decorated with typographies and colours and patterns. It also hangs swatchbooks, and artfully broken pieces of mirror. Opposite to that, is where the published cover designs are showcased in a wall that is entirely cased with shelves. This serves as an exhibit portfolio for anyone walking into the store and thereby perfectly meshes with the rest of the Queen St. W.