Mjolk House (pronounced mi-yelk) is a contemporary version of a traditional shop house. The renovation of the W.H. Ives Tailor Building (1889) in the Junction includes : 1. a restoration of the Historically Listed façade, one of the last pressed metal commercial facades on a Toronto main street 2. a renovation of the ground floor commercial into a design store and gallery 3. a renovation of the second and third floor residential units into a single family home.
Mjölk House shows how a landmark building can be renovated in a contemporary manner while still in keeping with the physical character of the street. Traditional strategies such as courtyards and light wells were used to provide privacy, outdoor space, natural light and air. Through innovative design, this urban shop house exemplifies how an individual building and proprietor can contribute to a vibrant street life and a neighborhood rejuvenation.
Mjölk House is a sensitive and articulate restoration of an historic retail frontage that is remarkable both for its commitment to revitalizing a tired neighborhood and for its zeal for the project at hand. The program for the project, a contemporary live/work ‘shop house’, is the restoration of an historic idea, with the operator of the retail space living above the shop. While modest in scale, the intelligent and passionate approach to design, at the micro and macro levels, has yielded an exemplary model for subsequent development. An unpretentious approach to restoration delivers a stunning contemporary interior that is uniquely appropriate to the merchandise, to the street, and to our time. The rear lane expression boldly contributes to a renewed residential typology, again a reinterpretation and revival of an historic model virtually lost.”
Jury Comment
Toronto Urban Design Awards 2013
| project type : | residence renovation + heritage façade restoration |
| design : | peter tan, christine ho ping kong, joe lin, andrew waller, maziar shafiee |
| construction : | studio junction, j. blasdale construction |
| heritage : | roof tile management |
| structural : | gulf engineering |
| mechanical : | bnd engineering services |
| photos : | studio junction |