36 Millbank Ave., Toronto
Asking Price: $6,695,000
Taxes: $26,640.63 (2025)
Lot Size: 45 by 148 feet
Agent: Robin Farb-Eckler, Harvey Kalles Real Estate
The family room has a lift-and-slide door that opens the back wall to the garden, an innovative feature in the 1990s.Supplied
The backstory
From the early days of his practice, Siamak Hariri has been contemplating ways to create architecture that resonates with the human soul.
“We are all spiritual beings with a body attached,” the architect says in describing the emotional lift people experience when they engage with music, art and poetry.
Today, Toronto-based Hariri Pontarini Architects places that tenet at the centre of the firm’s designs for museums, concert halls, university buildings, and places of worship.
A modern Scottish longhouse with cozy flair showcases Georgian Bay views
On a recent July day, Mr. Hariri made a return visit to one of his earliest residential projects, where designing a new Forest Hill residence for a Toronto couple was also a summons to meet that aspiration.
The clients were veteran real estate developer Jerry Shear and his wife, Eleanor.
The couple shared six sons in a blended family, says Mr. Shear, but the children had all moved on in 1996, when he and his wife purchased a teardown bungalow on a steeply sloping lot.
Mr. Shear had retired from the development business by that time, but a son who worked in the industry told him about the emerging talent of Mr. Hariri.
When he invited the architect to meet, the two were quickly on the same wavelength; they both agreed as they reflected on their early visits to the site.
Mr. Hariri recalls standing on the incline, puzzling out how to place walls so that the Shears could be surrounded by their art collection while light flowed through the centre of the home.
“When you combine light, art and landscape, you have magic,” says Mr. Hariri. “It’s an emotional engagement. That’s what I was after.”
Limestone, used throughout the kitchen, is a Hariri signature material.Supplied
The house today
The practice founded by Mr. Hariri and David Pontarini had only been established for a couple of years when Mr. Shear called on the pair.
The firm’s profile was raised immeasurably in 1999 when the McKinsey & Co., corporate headquarters, built on the campus of the University of Toronto, won multiple prestigious awards.
The work on the Shear house coincided with the development of that groundbreaking building, Mr. Hariri recalls, and each influenced the other.
Houses are a testing ground because they allow the time and space to explore new things, he says, and the Shears did not back away from innovation.
“They demanded it,” says Mr. Hariri. “They were gutsy. They let me experiment.”
The house, with 4,287 square feet of above-ground living space, is organized around a three-storey atrium with clerestory windows, which bring light to the dining room at the centre.
The dining room at 36 Millbank Ave.Supplied
For Ms. Shear, who died in 2023, having a large table where friends and family could gather for dinners and celebrations was paramount.
The family room at the rear of the house has a lift-and-slide door that opens the back wall to the garden.
The concept is more commonly used today, but it was remarkable in the 1990s, says Mr. Hariri.
A living area at the front of the home overlooks the street.
Mr. Hariri chose cherry wood for the kitchen cabinets and limestone for the floor, countertops and centre island.
He began using the stone, he says, after the owner of an Owen Sound, Ont., quarry offered it for free if Mr. Hariri would use it for a high-profile project in the financial district.
“I actually fell in love with the material,” says the architect. “I’ve used it so much; it has become a signature.”
An open staircase leads to the second floor, where the home is divided into two wings connected by a bridge overlooking the dining room.
The separation of the primary suite at the rear and the additional bedrooms at the front creates privacy for the homeowners, Mr. Hariri notes.
“I’ve used this many times now. People are happy.”
Mr. Shear currently uses one room overlooking the street for his home office, while a second bedroom is reserved for guests.
A home with a hayloft – and a stage
The primary suite at the rear includes a bedroom with views of the trees. There’s an ensuite bathroom with a soaker tub and a large dressing room with a sitting area and a door to a balcony. A second ensuite bathroom has a walk-in shower.
The third floor provides an additional bedroom and bathroom. At the rear, a large deck provides space to relax surrounded by the tree canopy.
Outside, Mr. Hariri carved away a slice of the hillside to create a sheltered stone terrace and modern waterfall.
The Shears brought in landscape architect Janet Rosenberg to design the gardens.
“It opened my eyes to a highly and beautifully orchestrated life,” Mr. Hariri says of the result.
The exterior of glass, teak, mahogany, and rough and smooth-cut stone uses the same materials as the McKinsey & Co., building.Supplied
The best feature
The architect envisioned a contemporary house that would be open, airy and light. The lesson, he says, is that modern can also be warm.
And in a Toronto climate that can experience extreme conditions, the materials need to last.
“Anybody can do lots of glass, but how do you make it comfortable?”
On Millbank Avenue, the exterior of glass, teak, mahogany, and rough and smooth-cut stone uses the same materials as the heritage-designated McKinsey & Co., building.
Mr. Shear balked at the expense of the copper detailing on the exterior, but the architect persuaded him that a thin drip edge was necessary to keep rain from hitting the windows trimmed in mahogany.
“You’ve got to do it,” Mr. Hariri insisted. “We live in a tough climate. You have to have the rain fall off.”
With dozens of landmark projects now in the firm’s portfolio, Mr. Hariri surveys the house and still feels gratified by the result.
“I’m very happy with this after 30 years,” he says. “I don’t know if I would do it any differently now.”