Periscope House / Atelier RZLBD

Located in East York, Toronto, Periscope House is a renovation-addition project in which the existing one-story bungalow is renovated and a second floor is added on top. It was commissioned by a young professional couple with two children, to create a more personalized and sustainable setting for their lives. Coinciding with the pandemic, however, which has doubled or even tripled the material costs, it eventually went through a drastic revision, which resulted in removing half of the second floor and relocating children's bedrooms to the ground floor. Yet, by utilizing the removed area as a void, the project has gained a series of double-height spaces on the ground floor, which has bestowed a distinctive exterior form that resembles a periscope or an antique camera with an accordion bellow.