Nepahwin Residence
Sudbury, Ontario
A renovation project for an existing home, the clients were looking to replace their failing balcony, convert the existing garage into a workshop, and add a solarium to the main floor in preparation for their retirement. Uniquely, the solarium would double as a tea house for formal ceremonies, creating a dedicated space to celebrate customs maintained from their time in Japan.

The clients were interested in participating in the construction process, so details were arranged to accommodate their involvement, from an extended, low-pressure construction timeline to materials that could be easily and incrementally manoeuvred on site. The existing deck wood was also repurposed into a fence for the backyard, with special care taken to incorporate details that could accommodate the weaknesses in the older wood.

The new balcony was built using NLT (Nail-Laminated Timber) construction to create a solid finished mass and avoid the typical open-joist finish at the underside. The NLT structural posts extend upward to frame the solarium, which also supports a roof deck at the second storey for the clients’ private use. The garage conversion into a workshop included the replacement of the existing garage door with a custom aerogel-insulated translucent panel door to permit natural light into the space at any time of the year. The natural wood finish of both balcony and solarium merges seamlessly with the existing trees and view of the lake on site, making the backyard a well-integrated and unassuming space for reflection and connection.

PERIOD           2014 - 2021
STRUCTURE        Wood (Old+New)
SCALE            3 stories

CLIENT           Private Residence
TEAM             Roch Belair Architect
STRUCTURAL       Tall Pines Engineering
GEOTECHNICAL     Exp
CONSTRUCTION     Owners
                 Hodgins Construction
                 Nordeck


SERVICES         3D Scans
                 Landscape Design
                 Conceptual Design
                 Rendering Package
                 Building Permit
                 Phased Work
                 Enhanced CA 
Danielson Architecture Office

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