From the road, the Hemlock House looks like a barn. Toronto architect Brian O’Brian designed it as a weekend retreat in the town of Markdale, in southern Ontario, and its slanted corrugated-metal facade and angled, greenery-covered roof give it a working-farm profile.
The weekend house sits on a 72-acre (29-hectare) property. It replaces a much older building on the same land.
The project started as a renovation. The client first planned to update an existing farmhouse, but that plan changed.
If you want to see how a historic farm building can be reworked for modern life, Historic Austrian Farmhouse Revitalized with Bold Modern Design shows a renovation that keeps the original character while adding new architecture.
O’Brian described the shift in scope in plain terms. “What started as a modest renovation evolved into a full replacement of the small, 1930s farmhouse,” he said.
The client found O’Brian through earlier work nearby, a nearby project that was a 19th-century schoolhouse with stone walls, converted into a cottage.
Why this rural weekend house ontario borrows from farm buildings
For this commission, O’Brian studied the agricultural buildings of the region and used them as the starting point for the design.
This rural house stands on a flat site bordered by woods and farmland. It combines a long bar with an adjoining box and totals 3,250 square feet (302 square metres). The studio’s project index lists the house as completed in 2025.
A long entry driveway leads to the house. Along the way, it passes an old farmhouse and a barn that is more than a century old. The approach sets the new building against the older structures that share the land.
O’Brian said the design “extends the language of agricultural buildings into a contemporary domestic form.” The bar-shaped volume carries a sloped, metal-clad roof. The attached box has an angular green roof.
The north face is a slanted wall of corrugated metal. Three windows cut through it. External perforated steel panels slide up and down to cover them. A boxy protrusion clad in wood breaks up the wall.
O’Brian said the north side reads as a farm structure at first, then opens up. “This is meant to feel like an agrarian building at first view, but one that begins softening and opening on approach,” he said.
The south face looks onto patios and a swimming pool. Hemlock siding covers the wall, and large areas of glass bring in light. Overhangs at several heights guard the building against sun and snow.
A carport stands beside the main house. A canopy of wood and metal shelters it.
The floor plan of this home divides the home into shared rooms and private ones. Each zone has its own role in daily life.
The two-level bar contains a principal suite, a secondary suite and two bedrooms that share one bathroom. The box holds the kitchen, dining area and living room.
Interiors use muted tones. Natural and industrial materials appear across the rooms, giving the house a restrained, workmanlike character.
For another take on wood-led rural living, Timber Retreat in Minas Gerais Embracing Nature is worth a look, especially for how it treats its material and its landscape.
O’Brian summed up the material approach in one line. “Concrete and hemlock define every surface, carrying a steady material logic through the house,” he said.
The Hemlock House is one of several recent Ontario homes that reinterpret rural building types. A 1970s chalet was renovated and expanded by UUfie to suit a steep site. Barbora Vokac Taylor designed a black cabin with wedge-shaped clerestory windows. The Hemlock House shows how the plain forms of a farm can organize a modern rural weekend house ontario. Its metal skin, green roofs and sliding steel screens turn a familiar silhouette into a working residence.
Source: dezeen.com
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Hemlock House by Brian O’Brian located?
The Hemlock House is located in the town of Markdale, in southern Ontario. Toronto architect Brian O’Brian designed it as a weekend retreat.
Why did the Hemlock House project replace the original farmhouse?
The project began as a renovation to update an existing farmhouse, but the plan changed. O’Brian said it evolved into a full replacement of the small, 1930s farmhouse.
How large is the Hemlock House in square feet?
The house totals 3,250 square feet (302 square metres). It combines a long bar with an adjoining box and sits on a 72-acre property.
What materials define the surfaces of the Hemlock House?
O’Brian said concrete and hemlock define every surface of the house. The south face is covered in hemlock siding, while the north face is a slanted wall of corrugated metal.
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