Nepahwin 2.0

A two-storey mass timber addition above an occupied house. The pilot project for Lantern Box.

Sudbury, Ontario In progress2023

Rendering of the finished Lantern Box, a glazed, metal-clad upper storey with rooftop solar panels above the brick house — The finished Lantern Box above the existing house.

Following our work on the Nepahwin Residence, this study adds two mass timber storeys above the house, with little impact on the existing structure or on daily life inside. A new timber frame on its own foundations carries the new floors, so the house below is not asked to hold them up. They would hold more living space, an art gallery and a new DAO office, with separate exterior access and an open roof.

The project is in design, as a precedent for adding housing by building upward, and is a working example of our Lantern Box framework.

Status: In progress
Period: 2023
Location: Sudbury, Ontario
Sector: Residential
Structure: Wood, old and new (mass timber addition)
Scale: 5 storeys total
Client: Private residence
DAO services: Algorithmic design
3D scans
Minor variance
Conceptual design
Rendering package

3D laser-scan point cloud of the existing two-storey brick house, its yard, side balcony and surrounding planting — 3D scan of the existing house, the starting point for the design.

Rendering of the house with an independent timber frame of angled legs and beams rising through and above its hip roof — The new timber frame rising through and above the house.

Project team and credits

StructuralAnthony Spick Engineer
SurveyAvant Garde Geomatics

More residential work

Residential services

Solarium framed in timber, open on three sides to autumn maple trees

Nepahwin Residence

Sudbury, Ontario2014–2021 Completed

A nail-laminated timber balcony, solarium tea room and garage workshop added to a lakeside home on a phased, owner-built schedule.

Aerial view from over the lake of the cottage set back in autumn trees, with a path down to the shore

Wahnapitae Residence

Skead, Ontario2022–2025 In progress

A supplier's prefabricated cottage, adapted to a sloping lakeside lot with an ICF walkout basement, balcony, garage and pool terrace.

Aerial view of the house with a lounge wing, flat canopies and an in-ground pool on a green lawn

Garson Residence

Garson, Ontario2016–2020 Completed

Pool, fire-pit, outdoor kitchen, lounge and shading canopies designed as one connected outdoor living space for an existing home.

Tell us about your project.

Send a few lines about the property and what you want to build. We'll reply to arrange a call.

Discuss a project

Or email us directly

[email protected]

Lantern Box intake Open form

Property Feasibility Open form

Meetings

We work as a remote office across Ontario. We come to you, or arrange a meeting wherever suits you. For distant sites, we often fly in.

How field access works

Useful to include

The property address and what is there now
What you want to build or change, and roughly when
A budget range, if you have one
Any survey, drawings, photos or zoning information you already have