Our client, a family of four, wanted to root themselves in this charismatic neighbourhood in Vancouver. At the same time, this private client requested that their house be a refuge somehow veiled from the street. The architects realized they could achieve this by bucking the extroverted facades typical of Vancouver homes. The designers also focused on sustainably dismantling the existing home on the site—less than 7% entered the landfill—74,000 kg of materials was repurposed and 9,000 kg was sent for reuse on other builds in the region. The front facade features Western red cedar tongue-and-groove stained grey, purposefully muted in display and tone. The home’s energies focus inward, the materials palette warm and simple: whitewashed plywood, painted cabinetry, artisanal subway tile, blackened steel, concrete floors, and linen and felt curtains. This is also a house designed for indoor-outdoor living—a cedar deck flows off the living room, while wide concrete steps beckon off the kitchen. Look at the back of the house: the architects resolved the relationship of forms coming together in a balanced composition pivoting off a central axis.
