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RDH Building Science

@rdhbuildingscience

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A Home Designed to Age Beautifully  Luxury doesn’t always announce itself. At the Toronto Sustainable Residence, it is found in the quiet details - natural materials, timeless finishes, balanced proportions, and carefully considered transitions between spaces.  Wood, stone, and clean architectural lines come together with a sense of restraint and intention, creating a home designed to feel as considered years from now as it does today.  Quiet luxury is found in the harmony between simplicity, craftsmanship, and intention. Interior Designer: @gilliangillies  General Contractor: @cliffandevans  Structural Engineer: @reviveengineering  Mechanical Engineer: @zonengineeringinc  Building Science Consultant: @rdhbuildingscience  Photography: @2spacephoto  Videography: @cameron.st.visual.storytelling #TorontoArchitecture #QuietLuxury #TimelessDesign #ResidentialArchitecture #SustainableArchitecture
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Introducing Lawrence Heights Seniors’ Residence! This six-storey independent living building is Toronto Community Housing Corporation’s first purpose-built seniors’ facility and its first mass timber project. Spanning 100 acres just south of Yorkdale Shopping Centre, the redevelopment of Lawrence Heights is TCHC’s largest revitalization project to date. We were selected to design Phase 2 of the master plan, which will build on Phase 1 and continue to transform the area into a mixed-use, transit-oriented community. We’re also delivering its first new building: a seniors’ residence with 171 affordable units designed to help older adults age in place with autonomy and dignity. The project sets a new benchmark for sustainable and affordable seniors’ housing in the city. We’re proud to be part of such a meaningful project and look forward to sharing more in the weeks and months ahead. Images by @secchi_smith + Superkül
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Spaces Designed for Living  At the Toronto Sustainable Residence, every space was thoughtfully tailored to the family’s way of life, balancing comfort, character, and understated refinement.  From a private sauna and serene principal ensuite to a living room and kitchen made for gathering, each space reflects a different part of everyday life - with considered details that reveal themselves over time.  Interior Designer: @gilliangillies  General Contractor: @cliffandevans  Structural Engineer: @reviveengineering  Mechanical Engineer: @zonengineeringinc  Building Science Consultant: @rdhbuildingscience  Photography: @2spacephoto  Videography: @cameron.st.visual.storytelling #TorontoArchitecture #CustomHome #ResidentialDesign #QuietLuxury #ThoughtfulDesign
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The Art of Custom Design  A truly personal home is created through details designed specifically for the people who live there.  At the Toronto Sustainable Residence, custom design is woven throughout - from built-in furniture and a tailored ensuite to a private sauna, considered living spaces, and integrated automated features. Each element was designed around the family’s routines, preferences, and way of living.  The result is a home that feels distinctly their own.  Interior Designer: @gilliangillies  General Contractor: @cliffandevans  Structural Engineer: @reviveengineering  Mechanical Engineer: @zonengineeringinc  Building Science Consultant: @rdhbuildingscience  Photography: @2spacephoto  Videography: @cameron.st.visual.storytelling #TorontoArchitecture #CustomHome #ResidentialDesign #CustomArchitecture #ThoughtfulDesign
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Designed Around Light  Light is one of the most powerful materials in architecture. At the Toronto Sustainable Residence, carefully positioned openings bring daylight deep into the home, connect lower levels to the garden, and extend living spaces outdoors.  From clerestory windows and a skylit stair to expansive basement glazing and lift-and-slide doors, every opening is carefully considered to shape the experience of the spaces within.  Interior Designer: @gilliangillies  General Contractor: @cliffandevans  Structural Engineer: @reviveengineering  Mechanical Engineer: @zonengineeringinc  Building Science Consultant: @rdhbuildingscience  Photography: @2spacephoto  Videography: @cameron.st.visual.storytelling #TorontoArchitecture #ResidentialDesign #DaylightDesign #ArchitecturalDetails #SustainableResidence
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The Periscope, featured in Residential Design Magazine. For a family outgrowing their 1,100-square-foot 1940s rambler, moving was not the only answer. Instead, the project adapts and expands the existing house, adding space while preserving its connection to the neighborhood, garden, and forest beyond. The result is an addition that is deliberately compact from the street, but expansive from within. Architecture & Interiors: @go_c_studio Contractor: @praxis_builders Structural Engineer: @harriottvalentine Envelope Consultant: @rdhbuildingscience Photographer: @k7scott @resdesignmag Vol. 5, 2026, pp. 56-62 Old and new meet at the roofline. Rather than treating the addition as an object placed on top of the existing house, we studied how its form could grow directly from what was already there. “What shape does it take, considering the rooflines of the existing structure?” Jon Gentry, AIA, GO'C partner. The final form became a dark, periscope-like volume that slips into the existing L-shaped house, with its butterfly roof opening toward diffused northern light at the street and the big southern views of the hillside beyond. A precise incision into the existing house. The addition extends the living spaces toward the backyard, creating a larger kitchen, dining area, and family room while maintaining the character of the original brick rambler. The new volume meets the old house along a carefully controlled line, turning the seam between old and new into an architectural detail in its own right. Builder Peter Ward of @praxis_builders describes it as a place where “The old gable ridge was cut in half, and we framed our new addition right to this line.” Making room for living. The main level was reorganized around a larger kitchen, dining area, and living room, creating a more generous communal space without removing the character of the existing house. White walls and warm wood create a quiet backdrop for art, while the expanded glazing brings the garden and changing light deeper into the home. The staircase becomes the center of the house. A slender staircase of blackened steel rods rises through the center of the home, illuminated from above by a l
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Ask a professor what makes a great building scientist and you might expect an answer about physics. John Straube @jfstraube starts there, understanding physics is important, but spends the rest of the answer somewhere else. On the latest Build It Forward, John says the thing that trips up people who are brilliant at modeling is materials. Things don't line up. Surfaces aren't flat. So his advice is to get on job sites, and better than that, get hands on yourself. Watch the full conversation with John here: Link in bio. Build Better(TM) with samples of @benjaminobdyke roof and wall products: https://benjaminobdyke.com/get-a-sample-build-forward-podcast Work with Auburndale Builders on your high-performance build. vision@auburndalebuilders.com Made with @prmeabl_ at the Building Science Corporation Test Hut #BuildItForward #AuburndaleBuilders #HighPerformanceBuilding #BuildingScience #BuildingCommunity #BuildingCulture #JohnStraube #BenjaminObdyke #BuildBetter
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Connected to the Outdoors  The Toronto Sustainable Residence was designed to create a seamless connection between interior and exterior spaces, bringing natural light, garden views, and the changing seasons into everyday life.  From the covered front porch to the rear patio and expansive floor-to-ceiling glazing, each space extends the experience of the home beyond its walls.  Interior Designer: @gilliangillies  General Contractor: @cliffandevans  Structural Engineer: @reviveengineering  Mechanical Engineer: @zonengineeringinc  Building Science Consultant: @rdhbuildingscience  Photography: @2spacephoto  Videography: @cameron.st.visual.storytelling #TorontoArchitecture #ResidentialDesign #IndoorOutdoorLiving #BiophilicDesign #SustainableResidence
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Designed Around Daily Life  Every detail of the Toronto Sustainable Residence was designed with the family’s daily rhythms in mind, creating spaces that support how they live, gather, and unwind.  Here’s a look at some of the children’s spaces throughout the home, from playful bedrooms to spaces designed for creativity, imagination, and quiet moments of retreat. Thoughtful design creates room for childhood today, while allowing the home to evolve alongside the family. Interior Designer: @gilliangillies  General Contractor: @cliffandevans  Structural Engineer: @reviveengineering  Mechanical Engineer: @zonengineeringinc  Building Science Consultant: @rdhbuildingscience  Photography: @2spacephoto  Videography: @cameron.st.visual.storytelling  #TorontoArchitecture #ResidentialDesign #FamilyHome #ThoughtfulDesign #SustainableResidence
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John Straube @jfstraube spent years reviewing architects' plans and running into the same problem. He could not say whether a design was any good, because he could not tell what was doing what. On the latest Build It Forward, John and @nick_at_ab land on the analogy. Building plans are like Mad Libs. We fill them with all sorts of words, but do we have the context? We see the product nouns, but do we know their verbs? When the plan only names the product, somebody down the line might swap it for something that looks equivalent and isn't. Watch the full conversation with John here: Link in bio. Build Better(TM) with samples of their roof and wall products: https://benjaminobdyke.com/get-a-sample-build-forward-podcast Work with Auburndale Builders on your high-performance build. vision@auburndalebuilders.com Made with @prmeabl_ at the Building Science Corporation Test Hut #BuildItForward #AuburndaleBuilders #HighPerformanceBuilding #BuildingScience #BuildingCommunity #BuildingCulture #JohnStraube #BenjaminObdyke #BuildBetter
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Combining window upgrades with heat pumps can make heating and cooling retrofits more cost-effective for rental building #energyefficiency and performance. Our latest RARA and #FRESCo pilot in Saanich explores this opportunity, with three window-mounted #HeatPumps and custom high-performance windows installed in a two-bedroom rental suite. Early tenant feedback is already positive, with fewer drafts and a quieter home. The project helps us understand how this approach could improve #buildingperformance, tenant comfort and long-term resilience while making future #buildingretrofit installations more affordable. Through @wearerentbc and #RARA, we're proud to support practical retrofit solutions for #rentalhousing that improve tenant comfort, building performance and long-term resilience. Thank you to our supporting partners and funders: FRESCo, @bchydro, Building to Electrification Coalition (B2E) – ZEIC, @cascadiawindows, @rdhbuildingscience, @midea.canada and North American HVAC Products Ltd. Explore the case study: bit.ly/RARA-Case-Studies Learn more about RARA: bit.ly/RARA-BC First in BC: Window-Mounted Heat Pump Pilot with Case Study
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We’re proud to share that the University of Washington’s Interdisciplinary Engineering Building (IEB) has received a 2026 National Award of Merit in Educational Facilities from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA)!     The jury recognized how the IEB team turned collaboration into a measurable system with testable commitments. In its citation, DBIA says the project stands out for “treating collaboration as something a team could define, practice and verify.”   Delivered through progressive design-build with our partner HENSEL PHELPS for the University of Washington, IEB brings engineering together with fields like health sciences, environmental studies, business, and medicine to support UW’s growing enrollment.   This merit recognition puts IEB in the running for DBIA’s top honors. Project of the Year, National Awards of Excellence, and “Best of” distinctions will be announced at the DBIA Design-Build Conference & Expo in Cleveland on Thursday, November 5. The KT team will be there to celebrate alongside Hensel Phelps and the UW.   Congratulations to the whole team, including KPFF Consulting Engineers, PAE, VECA Electric & Technologies, Auburn Mechanical, Inc., Säzän Group Inc., Burman.Design  Consulting Engineers, PLACE, RDH Building Science, and Studio Matthews.
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