House on Two Walls — Fabrication Studio | Garden Suite Architecture

Fabrication Studio is a Toronto architecture practice led by François Abbott.

We build from what a site already offers: its slope, its trees, its light. Our work is restrained in material and made to weather, settling into its surroundings rather than asserting itself. The result is architecture that, after a few seasons, looks as though it belongs.

The architecture should support the lives and relationships of its inhabitants. We work closely with our clients to understand these guiding principles.

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HOUSE ON TWO WALLS DOC 2026 - GARDEN SUITE / CORNER LOT

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HOUSE ON TWO WALLS 2026 - Garden Suite

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Architect: François Abbott
Builder: Mike Veenhuizen
Engineer: Kieffer Structural Engineering
Photography: TBD
Completion: 2026
Size: 60 m²

DESCRIPTION

Two tall maples stand close together at the top of the site. The small residential lot is defined by its severe slope. To add a structure, we needed to interrupt the topography with two concrete retaining walls, extending from the hillside out to the street. The tops of both walls sit at the same level, just beneath the canopies of the trees. From this anchor in the site, a small house can sit level over a steep hill, covered by the foliage of the maples.

Although the walls are cast from concrete, they are formed with wood. Vertical spruce grain is imprinted along their surface — softening their nature, and giving ivy and vine something to grip.

From the street, sheets of galvanized steel grating lead to the front door, meandering past the trunks of the maples. The grates let snow and sunlight pass through. Plants grow beneath them in summer. Dirt falls away from boots in spring. There is nothing to shovel in winter.

The house that sits on the walls is a natural zinc-clad form, shaped by by-laws, dodging views from neighbours, and deferring to the trees above.

Inside, deliberate openings bring the trunks of the trees into the living room. Skylights are shaded by swaying layers of leaves. Though the living space sits close to two neighbours, there are no visual connections to them — a sense of distance and privacy that contradicts the scale of the project.

The house is 53 square metres on one storey. The kitchen counter spans the living room and mudroom. A very thick partition wall separates the public space from the bedroom and washroom. The wall itself is a room — housing mechanical equipment, acoustic insulation, and storage — a weighted threshold between the public and private sides of the house.

Over the years, vines will grow on the walls. Plants will spread beneath the grates, and leaves will reach over the oxidizing zinc. Green will envelop the grey as the building settles into its place.