Rathnelly House / Studio VAARO

Studio VAARO's Rathnelly House is a comprehensive and formally expressive renovation of an Edwardian-era semi-detached house in midtown Toronto. The project not only enhances functionality and spatial fluidity but also expands the home significantly from within while respecting its existing footprint. The clients, a professional couple with a young child, sought both a pragmatic and aesthetic transformation: to increase usable floor area, raise ceiling heights, and expand storage, all within a welcoming and distinctive design mediating between openness and seclusion. Extensive structural interventions enabled a fundamental reordering of space. The result is an expansive plan that adds 140 m² (1,500 ft²), increasing the functional area of the home by almost 60%.

There is growing awareness around sustainability—and the environmental cost of prematurely demolishing safe, structurally sound buildings only to replace them with new construction. In the broader race to reduce carbon emissions, corporations and institutions are placing greater emphasis on ESG performance (environmental impact, social responsibility, and governance). Many now require carbon accounting, set "carbon-neutral" targets, or purchase carbon credits to offset footprints.

RSHP has announced the completion of the Barangaroo South Masterplan in Sydney, marking the realization of a 15-year redevelopment that has reconnected the city's north-western harbour edge to its urban core. Once a disused container port, the 22-hectare site has been transformed into a mixed-use, carbon-neutral precinct, integrating commercial, residential, and public spaces along the waterfront. Developed in collaboration with Lendlease following an international design competition, the masterplan is organized into three zones: Barangaroo South, a high-density extension of the Central Business District; Barangaroo Reserve, a reconstructed natural headland that reintroduces native landscapes to the harbour; and Barangaroo Central, a low-density residential area linking the northern and southern ends of the development.

In early 2023, LUXELAKES planned to launch a new project in Wuhan. Having collaborated on multiple previous projects—such as Dotsss Children's Museum, Edenland Architectural, and CPI Planning in Chengdu, as well as The CAPE Commercial District and Qilou Historic Street Planning in Hainan—we were already familiar with each other and worked together seamlessly. As a result, we collaborated again to design a restaurant within a children's playground. During the preliminary planning phase, the restaurant was named "The Brave Cabin," as it was surrounded by challenging recreational climbing equipment. We hoped the building would inspire children's courage to overcome difficulties. With an indoor area of less than 200 square meters, the building has a relatively small footprint. Our goal was to create ample semi-outdoor spaces where visitors could relax in the shade. Additionally, thanks to its prominent location at the island's gateway, the building is visible from a distance to arriving visitors.