The Ravine House North Garden is part of the grounds of a modern private residence in Toronto’s Rosedale neighbourhood.

The design creates a “giardino secreto”, secret garden, that is shielded from the driveway and concealed with a horizontally slatted, illuminated screen. In response to the steeply sloping site, the screen cantilevers many metres over an adjacent ravine to close the view into and out of the garden. A series of polished black granite bands and stepped retention ledges captures internal views and extends them towards the forested edge. Low evergreens and masses of seasonal black tulips provide delight and diversity. The concept clarified the indoor outdoor relationship of KPMB’s modern masterpiece and resolved the deeper connection between the domestic scale of the home and the more expansive scale of the ravine system.

Photos by Tom Arban