Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Maison Glacé, or “Ice House”, is an experiment that seeks to connect the building to the environment in the face of Toronto’s harsh winter climate. This single-family house with a guest house annex will be protected from the sharp cold and freezing winds caused by its proximity to Lake Ontario thanks to a crust of ice that will form in the first cold days of winter, and that will protect the house throughout the season. The structure is built to allow water to disperse against the grid of the house, which cause this ice wall to form naturally and function as an insulating mechanism.
As the first Ice House in the world, this project will show how an innovation in environmental sustainability can potentially change the way houses (and other building types) can be constructed in northern climates. Construction is set to begin in early Spring.