It starts with an opportunity to use eco-friendly materials and be inventive without the restrictions of a typical urban lot, says Hobin, who has crafted a 30-year-career that has changed the city's urban and suburban skyline.
Last year, Hobin aimed his talents at designing a group of award-winning homes -- part of a development called McLean Landing -- in the small town of Merrickville, a short drive from Ottawa.
"When we design a house in a rural context, we think very differently," says Hobin, who was hired by Chuck Laberge, owner of Veranda Developments, to design homes with a country sensibility.
The homes earned design honours from the Greater Ottawa Home Builders' Association.
"As a practice, we focus on the natural environment," Hobin says. "We'd look at the shape of the home on the landscape, with strategic placement of windows based on what the sun is doing throughout the day and the seasons."
A country setting also provides numerous opportunities for creating transitional spaces that connect the home to the outdoors, says Hobin. "There's no need for the garage to be a dominant part of the house. It can be pulled off as a separate element, like other support buildings such as a greenhouse or storage facility."
A country setting, with large pieces of land, also allows an architect to link the home and garden. Hobin especially admires the style of old English country homes, where designers and landscape architects worked closely together to create outdoor rooms with enclosed or walled gardens.
"Today, we can create the same outdoor extension of the house, with transparent walls of glass to celebrate nature -- with more accessibility and informality."
The perfect country home needs to combine form and function to fully embrace the rural life, says Jim Bell, a designer and partner of David Mailing Architect Associates.
The location or siting of a home on rural property is crucial to maximize all the views and solar aspects, Bell says. A three-season screened porch or sunroom is one of the most popular features for country homeowners, Bell says, adding pets also deserve innovative solutions, including pet showers.
"We've designed dog-washing stations in a number of homes to clean up the family pet after it has roamed around the property."
It can be as simple as a shower base set into a mudroom or the garage to rinse off the dog, muddy boots, or even the kids, says Bell.
The garage is another area of special interest when it comes to country living. Bell has customized storage areas for outdoor furniture and gardening equipment, such as small tractors and lawnmowers. Garages can easily include a bench and shelving system in a niche for gardeners who want a potting area, says Bell, adding it makes sense to install a south-facing window.
When the home is on a hobby or horse farm, Bell has integrated well-ventilated utility rooms with separate indoor/outdoor entrances to seal smelly odours out of the main house.
Oversize laundry facilities in the mudroom are a useful feature to keep outdoor and work clothing away from the family's regular washer and dryer.
A customized home is the way to go for authentic country living, says Hobin, who recommends against transferring urban designs to the country. Each has its own sensibilities.
Suburban designs he has done in golf-course communities wouldn't work in a small town, he says.
The homes at McLean Landing pick up on the architectural details of Merrickville, putting a slightly modern twist on a historic town. Yet the homes are built with natural wood and stone in a style reminiscent of an older time when most homes had big front porches.
Bell followed a similar plan when helping Diane and Stephen Rolston, owners of Land Ark, design large rural homes on the edge of an Ottawa suburban community and then on wooded chunks of land in rural Kanata.
The country concept of these and other estate and village communities appeals to nature lovers who want the look and feel of a rural home without the actual work of living on a farm.
Instead of getting up to muck out the barn, these country residents head to their cars and a commute into the city.
-- Canwest News Service
