The Echo House Tour

I was going through some old folders on my computer and came across a bunch of images I had saved regarding The Echo House.

This home was featured on Arch Daily about a year ago.


I'm proud to say this is a Canadian home located in Ottawa, Ontario. Whoo hoo go Canada!

Before: A 1920's Victorian Home

The original home was built in 1924 and instead of tearing it down and starting from scratch, architects from Kariouk Associates created this stunning renovation. 

This once dark Victorian style home is now a light-filled, open, airy modern home! I LOVE it so so SO much.


Why is it called The Echo House? Because even though it's been given new life, there are still traces of the old home echoing throughout the space.

Before

After

Architects brilliantly turned a 2 storey (plus basement and attic) home into a 4 storey live/work space in an unconventional way.


The office, library and reading room all appear to be floating cubes that are staggered and connected with stairs and a catwalk.

It's pure genius. Plain and simple.


The entry even has a dog shower and drain- no more muddy dogs running through the house!


For more info read the full article here.

This is a place that needs to be experienced in person. It must have been so challenging to photograph because it's such a complex space but the photographers did a great job at capturing the essence of the space.


Oddly, as complex as it must have been to figure out and build, the finished product reads as being very simple.

As much as I adore this house, I'm on an advocate for getting rid of character homes.


I live in an area that is filled with Edwardian and Victorian character homes that are just beautiful. Sadly a lot of these homes are being torn down and made into rectilinear boxes. I love modern homes but there's a place for such buildings. I say leave the beautiful character homes alone. 


As much as I LOVE this Echo House and even though it's a reno, not a tear down, I would hate to see my neighbourhood turn 100% modern just because it's a neighbourhood known for it's character homes. Luckily a lot of the homes are protected by the city and labeled as heritage homes. Hurray! I want a little bit of our past to stick around with us!