The Two-Way House is a purpose-built laneway dwelling and the second phase of a five-unit rental project, following the conversion of the main house into a fourplex. Together, the phases demonstrate an incremental approach to gentle density that balances design ambition with cost efficiency and long-term performance.

Designed within a modest budget, the project reinterprets durable, low-cost materials common to Toronto’s rear yards—metal cladding, fencing, and utilitarian structures—into a compact, high-impact architectural form. The house takes its name from a series of dual relationships: as both a laneway and courtyard house; between an east-facing entry forecourt and a west-facing primary courtyard; and between an open, continuous ground floor and a compact, enclosed upper volume.

At grade, living spaces extend east to west, defined by a continuous board-and-batten wall that serves as both wall and fence, seamlessly transitioning between exterior and interior. Service spaces—including entry, kitchen, storage, and mechanical—are consolidated along the south side, allowing the main living area to remain open end to end. An expressed stair carved through this volume draws daylight from above and connects the two levels.

Above, a monolithic second floor houses two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and laundry, wrapped in galvanized corrugated steel with carefully oriented openings. Its projecting mass forms deep overhangs and a continuous ceiling and soffit below, which read as a singular, floating plane, reinforcing indoor–outdoor continuity at the ground level.

Passive and active strategies support strong energy performance. Both courtyards receive indirect southern light, overhangs and fencing protect ground-floor glazing, and north-facing clerestories provide privacy and cool daylight. Natural cross- and stack-ventilation, combined with a high-performance envelope and efficient mechanical systems, achieves an estimated 50% reduction in energy use.