Polar House

Instead of using the front door, the clients prefer to enter the house from the back garden, which is accessible from the laneway. Here, they often meet and chat with their neighbours, who use the alleyway as a quiet alternative to Bathurst Street. “I don’t even think I have a key to the front door,” one client noted in an early design meeting.

In the previous plan, the kitchen was located at the back of the house with a windowless living room at the centre. Wanting a space that better reflected their routine, the homeowners asked architect Barbora Vokac Taylor to reimagine the main floor, add a second floor bedroom; provide privacy; and take advantage of the eastern morning light in the open alleyway.

Using the laneway as a starting point, the architect conceived of a polarized floor plan with two main faces: one formal, facing the main street, and one informal, accessed from the back garden. Designing from the “ends” in, the team created a welcoming new “front” door – complete with a blank wall that both screens the entrance for privacy and is also intended for graffiti art installation – in the public alleyway.

To accommodate the client’s contrasting tastes – one preferred cozy traditional elements while the other favoured crisp, modern lines – the team preserved the original street facing facade. At the back, a modern charred-coloured wood addition with a pitched roof, now the master bedroom, was added as a nod to neighbouring homes. The resulting exterior respects the character of the streetscape while giving the access road a new focal point.

In the laneway, a simple black aluminum siding now marks the entrance to the home. Beyond the gate, a mature pear tree A canopy shelters the new back door and visually breaks the elevation. The second storey addition steps back to allow light to penetrate the home through the skylights above.

Entering the house, one steps into a welcoming sunken mudroom, which subtly separates the entry area from the main living space. Light is brought deep into the long plan via multiple skylights and windows to the east and west. Picture windows frame the pear tree and visually extend the space into the lush garden. The warm kitchen, powder room and hidden basement entryway now sit in the centre of the floorplan, with a formal dining room and main foyer at the front of the house.

On the second floor, punched windows in the master bedroom provide a playful counterpoint to the peaked ceiling. An ensuite and laundry are bathed in natural light, with views to the neighbourhood beyond. The family now has the refined and comfortable urban home they desired, complete with a welcoming new entrance in the laneway.

Barbora is a registered architect (OAA 2013) and principal of Barbora Vokac Taylor Architect Inc. (BVTA)—a professional architecture and interior design practice serving clients on human-centred projects focused on quality, wellbeing, and sustainability.


With works in residential, educational, commercial, new build, renovations, and interiors, the practice recognizes the importance of the sensual aspect of the human condition, and is driven by an experience-first design process rooted in integrity and intention—providing elegant and successful solutions.

Barbora's approach to architecture is a balance of contrasts: striving for tactility, beauty and atmosphere—in complement to rigorous technical resolution, longevity and usefulness. Her commitment to social responsibility, and her awareness of the impact of design on the community, drives the practice’s focus on common-sense sustainability and well being for all.

Prior to founding her practice, Barbora worked with acclaimed architects in Toronto, London UK and Montreal, developing professional expertise on award-winning institutional, commercial and residential projects. Barbora holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture as well as a Master of Architecture (MArch 2005), both from McGill University and was awarded the Ray Affleck Prize in Design, the American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Certificate of Merit and a place on the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Honour Roll.

Within the community, Barbora fosters critical discussion and advocacy through her work as an Executive Member of the Toronto Society of Architects (TSA) and the Director on the Design Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC). In addition to serving on the Program Advisory Committee at George Brown College and teaching part-time, Barbora has also served as guest critic at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University), the University of Toronto, OCADU and the Institute Without Boundaries at George Brown College.

The practice’s work has been published in the Globe & Mail, and featured on Dwell.com, DesignLines and recognized on the Dezeen 2018 Interiors Awards longlist. BVTA’s Hibou House was also included in the 2020 hardcover publication “Building Character: Transforming Old Homes for Modern Living”.

Situated alongside a laneway, Polar House transforms an existing home into a peaceful urban retreat

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