Recently, a reader brought my attention to a handful of mid-century modern houses on the east end of Regina Street in Lincoln Heights that resemble the Eichler-built houses in California, particularly in regards to the roof lines and exposed beams. Unfortunately, I have not been able to dig up any information on these houses - other than that they were built around 1960 - so maybe one of my readers can help? The one aspect that makes these houses stand out compared to the Eichler-built houses is that the Ottawa versions have large windows overlooking the street. As much as I absolutely adore the Eichler designs (some were designed by my favourite architect A. Quincy Jones), they are very inward looking, often focusing on a central courtyard. The privacy this provides is noteworthy, but so too is the fact that there are few "eyes upon the street" (as per Jane Jacobs). I for one know that I would not be happy in a house without large windows overlooking the...

It has been a long and grueling few months of battling cancer and having a stem-cell transplant, but I am on the mend and I feel great! A special thank you for all of the thoughts, prayers and encouraging messages! It is time to start blogging again and I have more great postings coming up, so stay tuned. Also, I wanted to share something fun. While I was healing I  decided to build my own interpretation of the Eichler X-100 House of Steel, built in 1956 in San Mateo California, and designed by my favourite architect A. Quincy Jones. Mid-Century Modern aficionados may be familiar with the house, but if you would like more info, a great resource is: Eichler X-100 . A few years ago I also did a post comparing this plan to one of Campeau's designs in Ottawa: California Modern in Ottawa .   Here are some images of the house and below is my Lego version:       More posts to come...so ...