Canadian architecture studio Giannone Petricone Associates has completed the renovation and expansion of Snider House, a heritage residence originally built in 1828 in Toronto. Combining historic preservation with contemporary residential architecture, the project introduces a sculptural glass addition that contrasts with the original Regency Cottage while extending the home’s lifespan for future generations.
Recognised as North Toronto’s oldest surviving structure, Snider House began as a brick farmhouse surrounded by orchards and open pastureland. Today, the restored residence demonstrates how adaptive reuse and modern design can coexist within a protected heritage building.
“The opportunity to renovate this remarkable 1828 heritage home inspired us to pursue a design that balances conservation and innovation,” said Pina Petricone, founding principal of Giannone Petricone Associates.
“We challenged ourselves to not only restore the original architecture but also elevate it to a new contemporary standard that would allow Snider House to thrive into its next 200 years.”
Heritage Restoration Meets Contemporary Residential Design
The architects collaborated with third-generation glass specialist Jody Cash to transform the 540-square-metre residence while respecting its historical character. First, the team removed a series of later additions before reinforcing the original structure. They then reconstructed the masonry, roof, front entrance and porches using high-performance insulation, windows and ventilation systems that comply with the Ontario Heritage Act, under which the property received designation in 1979.
“This required an innovative design to participate in an architectural dialogue between past and present, and a strategy for contrasting the house’s historical solidity with more fluid contemporary design innovations,” Petricone said.
Although the original interiors could not be preserved, the architects retained the formal centre-hall layout that defines the home’s front. Consequently, visitors enter a symmetrical plan featuring a living room with a wood-burning fireplace opposite a dining room centred around a floating mirrored bar.
Toward the rear, however, the design shifts into a more fluid architectural language. The former rear wall has been replaced by an undulating glass façade that opens the interiors to the surrounding garden while dissolving the boundary between house and landscape.
“Realizing the rear addition’s sinuous glass wall was an exciting challenge, both from a design and a technical point of view,” Petricone said.
“The glass wall weaves through the historic masonry, releasing the home from its formal symmetry and solidity.”
Sculptural Interiors Reinforce the Dialogue Between Old and New
Inside the addition, custom millwork integrates a pantry and coffee station while concealing an accordion-style return-air system that also functions as a metal expansion joint between the historic and contemporary structures.
Meanwhile, a sculptural staircase becomes one of the home’s defining architectural elements. Extending from the basement to the upper floor, the staircase features continuous powder-coated metal pickets aligned with each riser and leather-wrapped newel posts that introduce tactile warmth.
Above, the second-floor landing continues the home’s expressive architectural language through gently curving plaster walls and balustrades.
“The second-floor landing is an undulating expression of light and plaster, where the walls and balustrade appear to have delaminated from their stark positions as though flagging in a breeze flowing from the glazed transom and reconstructed side lit door,” the studio said.
Through the careful integration of heritage restoration, contemporary craftsmanship and expressive residential architecture, Giannone Petricone Associates has repositioned Snider House as a model for adaptive reuse. Rather than competing with the historic Regency Cottage, the sculptural glass extension creates a deliberate dialogue between Toronto’s architectural past and its contemporary design future.