Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 734

Homes that are built on or into sloping terrains are fascinating to me because the inconveniences of having to deal with uneven ground create additional constraints. And constraints are good for design. Not only because, I feel, it makes the design process easier, but because it helps to ensure that the moves being made are less arbitrary.

You are forced to respond to the surrounding context. You have no choice but to find some kind of harmony. And that can make things feel more deliberate, which may be the most important characteristic of good design. You want to know that someone actually thought about the design that they have put forward. You want to know that things were carefully considered.

Of course, sloping terrains also create opportunities. They usually translate into great views, which is certainly the case with the LR2 Residence in Pasadena, California by Montalba Architects (pictured above). Here, the main "entertaining deck" is located on the upper floor and has a large outdoor terrace. This configuration is not uncommon in slopside houses.

For more information about the LR2 Residence, including photos and floor plans, click here .

Photo/Diagram: Kevin Scott / Montalba Architects

It's interesting to think about the psychology behind this FT chart outlining consumer spending in the United Kingdom from March to early July. You can see the initial panic buying of groceries in late March (well, food and toilet paper). And you can more or less see the moment where people suddenly realized -- after working at home for a few weeks -- that their home was in desperate need of a refresh and that planting tomatoes might be a good hobby to take up given that there isn't much else to do. In case any of you are wondering, I remain well-stocked on the toilet paper front and my tomatoes are doing just fine .

Image: Financial Times

Architect Barton Myers has his home in Montecito, California on the market right now for $8.2 million. In addition to his own residence, the 38-acre site also houses his studio and a guesthouse, all of which have roll-up garage doors so that you can enjoy that perfectly benign California climate. The estate is quintessentially Myers and it's obviously awesome. Here is the listing from Sothebys. (I tried to street view the address but was only successful at locating what I think is its mailbox. What a natural setting.)

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the work of Myers, he is considered one of Toronto's most influential architects . After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and working with architect Louis Kahn for a few years, he moved to Toronto in the late 1960s to take up a teaching position at the University of Toronto. He then started his own architecture practice with Jack Diamond (also an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania) and remained a principal of Diamond and Myers until 1975.

Myers moved on to start his own firm -- Barton Myers Associates -- that same year and became known for notable projects such as 19 Berryman Street in Yorkville (Myers' own residence) and the Wolf House at 51 Roxborough Drive , which was Architectural Record's House of the Year in 1977. Probably the most distinguishing characteristic of his work is his use of exposed industrial materials, which is, of course, something that is on display in Montecito. But he managed to deploy these materials in a way that made them feel high-brow. His homes also feel very California to me.

In 1984, he opened up an office in Los Angeles and eventually his practice in Toronto was shutdown. But not before leaving a lasting legacy in Toronto. For a map of all the firm's North American projects, click here .

Photo: BMA