What’s the story behind those two houses on the east side of Leslie north of Lawrence?

What’s the story behind those two houses on the east side of Leslie north of Lawrence? They’re geometric, blue and purple and look as if they belong in a cartoon. What are they worth? Who built them and why?—Lori Rich and Shawn Fiedler, Willowdale

The houses were built in 1998 for real estate agent Nick Bernhard, who owned a chunk of property at the corner of Leslie Street and Bond Avenue and wanted to do something bold. He went to architect Zak Ghanim, whose colourful, unconventional designs are meant to challenge people to think about their environment. Apparently not everyone was up to such a challenge: after the design was made public, complaints from local residents delayed permit approvals for more than a year. Once they were built, Bernhard moved into the smaller of the two, and rented out the other until recently, when it was put up for sale. Asking price: $895,000.