Form follows flattery at Mississauga’s Craftsman Residences condominium By Martha Uniacke Breen

The garden suburb and the low-slung ranch bungalow. The large,

undivided picture window. Suburban neighbourhoods laid out to work with the land-scape and to encourage inter-action with neighbours. Natur-al, rough-cut materials; simple geometric forms. All of these icons of mid-century modern design and many more came,

directly or inspirationally, from the drafting pen of Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959).

Wright is widely acknow-ledged as America’s greatest architect, and it’s hard to over-state how completely this one man transformed the built en-vironment of the 20th century. What’s fascinating about his work is how familiar and right much of it feels, even if, off the

top of your head, you can’t name an individual architec-tural feature or concept that Wright pioneered.

The Craftsman Residences, a new community in Clark-son Village (part of Missis-sauga) whose preview centre is now open, illustrates how Wright’s influence can still inspire a well-designed com-munity more than half a cen-

tury after his death. Developer John Vandyk, the principal of Vandyk Group of Companies, is personally such a fan of the architect’s work that he has travelled all over the world to see Wright buildings, and even designed his own Mississauga home in the style.

With The Craftsman, Mr. Vandyk is realizing an idea he has nurtured for some years,

for a thoroughly up-to-the-minute boutique development designed for people who have a sense of style, but also a de-sire to live in harmony with the community (both within and surrounding the complex), with the design of their homes and with the landscape around them. All that is what Wright stood for as well.

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HOlMESholiday hurryDon’t even think about starting a reno now. PH4

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a wrighT riff

Deep overhangs

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Horizontal planes

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Myriad windows

Myriad windows

Natural materials

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Frank lloyd Wright’s robie House in

Chicago, built in 1910.

mississauga’s Craftsman residences

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The Craftsman name is a nod to Wright’s beginnings as a young architect in the Arts & Crafts movement, which at the time was itself considered revolutionary. The Craftsman style emphasized harmony with nature, unembellished finishes and materials (par-ticularly wood), simple de-tails, and a celebration of the artisan’s skill, including rafter ends, brickwork, joinery and trim, rough stone and hand-cut cedar shingles. (Later in his career, Wright began to experiment with poured and reinforced concrete, giving birth to a whole new branch of modernist design.)

It’s Wright’s later ideas, especially having to do with urban planning and harmony with the landscape, that make the Craftsman residences dif-ferent.

The first step to building a Wright-style community is to consider how it will blend into its proposed site, which here is a tract of unspoiled meadow that backs onto a large public park. A swath of mature woods faces the site from across the street as well. mr. vandyk felt that to just prop a high-rise in the middle of this, however cleverly designed, would have been a mistake. Instead, the Craftsman will be what he calls a “high-rise on its side,” a complex of three four-storey wings connected in a W shape that comprises about 300 indi-vidual units with communal courtyards, and views of the landscape from every suite.

The exteriors, in a variety of natural finishes and offering buyers a few choices, are clas-sic Wright in form: wide flat roofs, large windows, strong horizontal lines interspersed with chunky vertical massing. The wide, mid-rise profile of the complex makes it appear to almost nestle into its leafy site.

Wright was also a pioneer-ing thinker in the area of urban planning, and felt that com-munities should be designed to both enhance private enjoy-ment and to encourage inter-action between neighbours. early on, he conceived the idea of joining groups of four houses around a shared central garden area, and continued to develop this concept throughout his ca-reer. In the same spirit, ground floor units at the Craftsman will feature private patios with low stone walls and frosted-glass partitions (which divide

without isolating), facing on to landscaped communal walk-ing gardens within the wings of the complex, where neighbours can stop to chat while walking their dogs, or simply enjoy an evening’s stroll.

Wright’s influence doesn’t stop at the exterior. In con-trast to many architects (then and now), his ideas extended inside his buildings as well, in carefully considered detail. (The concept of the open plan, with flexible spaces allotted to their purposes instead of closed-off rooms, is his inven-tion.) Toronto interior design

firm union 31 also drew on his legacy when they designed the lobby, corridors, common areas and suite finishes. every suite will be slightly differ-ent, with windows oriented to make best use of views, while common areas are oriented to both encourage conversation or allow a person to watch a large screen Tv (with friends or solo), or if desired, read a book by the fire undisturbed.

In the grand three-storey lobby at the west side, the more elegant aspects of Wright’s

vision are given free play. be-hind soaring floor-to-ceiling windows, a palette of contem-porary materials such as steel, various types of stone, stained glass and iron panels cele-brate his penchant for organic, geometric forms. In fact, it’s notable that, while the Wright influence is clear, the lobby is also strikingly modern.

mind you, the Craftsman (craftsmancondo.com) is not designed as a museum or a simple homage to Wright’s life and work; it’s an upscale 21st-century community, designed to offer the modern conven-iences empty nesters or fam-ilies would want. These in-clude 24/7 concierge services, a fitness centre, a hobby and gardening room, a guest suite, and more. In addition, a well-appointed rooftop landscaped terrace, with a firepit and common seating areas, offer another opportunity to meet the neighbours, entertain or take advantage of a beautiful sunrise or sunset.

It’s a testament to the genius of Frank Lloyd Wright that his philosophy, with only minor concessions to modern-day life, should still work so well in a new residential complex be-ing planned more than a cen-tury after he started his career. Or it could be that his philoso-phy of “organic” architecture, that works both with nature and with how people actually live in their homes and public spaces, is simply timeless.

National Post

To just prop a high-rise on this site would

have been wrong

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Tips & Tricksseller beware:

How To spoT THe nosy

neigHbours aT your open House

The open house is a staple of the home-sale process, but should it be? High-tech Toron-to brokerage TheredPin.com thinks not, since most sales come from private showings, while open houses are more likely to attract nosy neighbours than potential buyers. Since the practice persists, TheredPin.com teamed up with a body language expert to help sell-ers play a fun open house game: Spot the “lookie-loo.” Here are three things to look out for: 1) Touching — a serious buyer will run hands over items, getting a feel for doorknobs or countertops. 2) Company — the presence of kids or parents also indicates seriousness. 3) Chattiness — someone more interested in snooping will often give long answers to ques-tions, or engage in idle chit-chat. Now you’re set for open-house sleuthing. National Post

The Craftsman employs Wright tenets inside, too, with fireplaces and interesting ceilings.

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