Designed by Canadian studio +tongtong, the two-level Long House is sunken into the landscape. Its’ long, stretched form has extensive glazing and plenty of wall space and alcoves inside for the display of art.
Located along the Niagara Escarpment, immersed within 50 acres of forests and hills, Long House is a slim rectangular house built for a pair of art collectors inspired by the white cube gallery aesthetic.
Designed by Canadian studio +tongtong, the minimalist house with extensive glazing and plenty of walls and alcoves for the display of art, was inspired by the high-ceilinged, white-walled galleries of Marfa, Texas, where a burgeoning contemporary art scene has taken root within the desert city landscape.
Through the architecture, gallery spaces are integrated into the circulation of the home, bringing the appreciation of art into the daily routine of life.
Take an interactive tour of Long House
Entry to the house is through a north-facing gallery that opens up into a series of UV protected niches for the clients’ collection of historical Native North American art.
While minimal, +tongtong’s design isn’t without character and quirk – additional spaces for artwork organically emerge from the core form, such as the extended plinth at the base of the stair or the triangular glazed niche for the piano that juts out into woodland.
Always in conversation with its natural surroundings, Long House is half sunken into the earth – its' low-lying two-storey form with a micro agricultural green roof follows the shape of the sloping land and it is surrounded by layered terraces and a reflecting pool.
The exterior walls are clad in split cedar shakes, each hand dipped in black tar – a traditional Scandinavian waterproofing technique, sensitively chosen to complement the context of the tawny-coloured timber terraces and tree trunks.
Located along the Niagara Escarpment, Long House sits within 50 acres of wooded land
The clients were inspired by the high-ceilinged, white-walled galleries of Marfa, Texas, where contemporary art and landscape meet
The piano in the main living space sits within its own glazed alcove, a triangle-shaped space that juts out into the woodland
The house is home to the client’s collection of historical Native North American art
Timber terraces extend the interior living space into the landscape
Extensive glazing on both sides of the rectangular plan bring in plenty of light into the living spaces
Entry is at the lower level of the house, where visitors can walk down a gallery of alcoves for the display of the client’s sculptures
A wall feature running along the stairway is a reminder of ‘power of nature’, reflecting ‘the glacial scars of Canada’s northern landscape’
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the +tongtong website
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