Richmond Hill ON / Ongoing
HILL HOUSE
HOSPICE.
Located near the Performing Arts Centre in downtown Richmond Hill, Hill House Hospice has long provided compassionate end-of-life care within a modest three-bedroom bungalow. While this original home offered a deeply personal and comforting setting, it no longer meets the growing needs of the community or the standards of contemporary hospice care. The new hospice, to be built on the same site, will provide twelve beds.
/ A ceremonial courtyard precedes the entrance, offering privacy and a moment of pause for arrivals and departures.
At the heart of the building is a central courtyard connecting residents and families to light, landscape, and sky. Enclosed by the building, it provides privacy and serenity, with soft planting, gentle water, and open sky, creating a soothing retreat within a site bordered by parking and nearby apartments.
Recognising that a true “house” cannot simply be replicated at this scale, the design instead captures the essence of home — its warmth, intimacy, and human scale. The massing remains low and grounded, using traditional materials such as brick and wood, and incorporating sloped roofs and chimney-like forms that evoke the language of domestic architecture.
Shaped by the site’s parallelogram geometry, the ground floor accommodates resident rooms and shared family spaces, while a distinct roof form above defines the building’s silhouette. The second floor, primarily for administrative functions, intersects the roof, with the ridge shifting toward the side-façade entrance. ◣