Superkül is our 2020 Designer of the Year
This year, Superkül takes the crown for its super contemporary and innovative private homes – and its cool additions to the city’s public realm, too
Why build a passive house? To this question, Meg Graham and Andre D’Elia return a thoughtful gaze. “Because,” Graham says, “it’s the right thing to do.”
A succinct answer, but not a simple one. Fitting, too, for the founders of Superkül, who shorthand their aesthetic as “just enough” – a philosophy that proves much more complex than it sounds. As the couple explains, passive homes – which use new building technologies to achieve a highly reduced environmental footprint – offer more than ethics and a pat on the back. They also boast near-zero emissions, improved air quality and radically lower utility bills.
Superkul’s first R-Hauz laneway house in Roncesvalles was designed to feature two bedrooms and a Hardie-board facade. Rendering courtesy of Superkül.
A rendering of a view into the kitchen of the R-Hauz laneway home. Rendering courtesy of Superkül.
A conceptual view of the yard. Rendering courtesy of Superkül.
So when tasked by R-Hauz with designing a series of prefabricated laneway houses for Toronto – 108-square-metre homes to be developed en masse – Superkül eyed local concerns about housing and sustainable development and vowed to create designs that were affordable, energy efficient and beautiful. And, true to their promise, these compact homes are designed to the international Passivhaus standards, featuring faceted ceilings to create dimension, skylights to infuse sunshine, bike parking, green roofs and sheltered outdoor space annexed from the main backyard. Who needs the main street when you’ve got just enough.
But don’t confuse that mantra for minimalism.
It’s not about making things simplistic, it’s actually the opposite. It’s about giving it enough thought that we can pare it back to its essence. Then the noise of the details is gone. Meg Graham and Andre D’Elia Partners, Superkül
The floor, walls and ceiling are wrapped in warm oiled white oak. Photography by Tom Arban.
Photography by Tom Arban.
The back exterior of the home’s addition. Photography by Tom Arban.
In an addition in midtown, for instance, the floor, walls and ceiling are wrapped in warm oiled white oak – a streamlined refuge defined by a faceted skylight, a bathtub hidden coyly behind a half wall, and a fearlessly oversized window looking out to a green canopy. Simplicity in materials draws the eye toward these architectural moments. “Whether it’s clad in barn board or laser-cut Egyptian marble, it shouldn’t matter,” Graham says. “The actual essence of the space will be the same.”
Sitting on the Niagara Escarpment, this modern take on the Ontario farmhouse is clad in cedar siding and shake, and offers incredible views of the south. Photography by Ben Rahn / A-Frame.
The main living space revolves around a capacious kitchen illuminated by a large feature skylight that channels additional daylight into the heart of the house. Photography by Ben Rahn / A-Frame.
In the dining space, a skylight and the faceted ceiling optimize natural light. Flooring from Monder; dining table, chairs and pendants from Kiosk. Photography by Ben Rahn / A-Frame.
Honouring the region, the history of the property, and the previous cottage that inhabited the site, the design makes use of local, reclaimed, and recycled materials, inside and out. Photography by Ben Rahn / A-Frame.
The backyard of the home is an extension of its interior living spaces. Photography by Ben Rahn / A-Frame.
In Singhampton, Ontario, whitewashed birch plywood grounds a labyrinth-like cabin, emphasizing the elegant angles of the asymmetrical ceiling, a glimpse of light spilling from the unseen room down the hall. Wandering through a Superkül house is often this: the ephemeral experience of moving through a sequence of sovereign spaces, never seeing them all at once.
Superkül, alongside KPMB, gh3, and Omar Gandhi Architect, reimagined Hamilton’s Pier 8 waterfront.
Universal Music Canada’s Toronto campus features state-of-the-art recording studios, a concert hall, a high-fidelity listening lounge, a creative agency, and a 40-seat boardroom. Photography by doublespace photography, Andrew Rowat.
The adaptive redesign of a mid-20th century mail depot into a contemporary television production headquarters for Proper TV. Photography by Tom Arban.
It’s a prowess that goes beyond the home. At every scale, Superkül is pushing the ceiling of accessible architecture. At the forthcoming Universal Music Canada headquarters in Liberty Village, for instance, the firm serves up more than just another office, transforming the lobby into Atlantic Avenue’s first performing arts studio (bar and café to boot). The firm also joins KPMB, where Graham and D’Elia got their start, in reimagining Hamilton’s Pier 8. The new waterfront development offers 18 low-rise towers, with nearly half the site turned over for public outdoor use. Designed by a team of Toronto firms, this astonishing series of architectures will be connected by roads and car-free paths that all lead to the water.
Members of the Superkül team at their Junction triangle office.
Like Superkül’s prefab laneway houses (the first pilot home will break ground on Roncesvalles shortly), Pier 8 is a testament to how scalable thoughtful architecture can be. A homeowner in Toronto can be a global environmental leader in their own backyard. A network of condos can feel like a bona fide neighbourhood by the shore. It’s not the size that matters. Architecture for the people looks good at any scale. SUPERKUL.CA
