Project: Sunset Residence
Architects: McLeod Bovell Modern Houses
Location: West Vancouver, Canada
Size: 6300 ft2
Year 2015
Photographer: Martin Tessler, Ema Peter
Text by McLeod Bovell
Located on a steep and technically challenging site in West Vancouver, the Sunset Residence is designed to capture immediate views of heavy marine traffic and the open sea to the west. The irregular shape of the sites boundaries align with the edge of the house and culminate in a substantial blinder which provided privacy from adjacent properties.
Movement through the house is choreographed to disguise considerable elevation change from street to the main living spaces. No individual stair run is greater than one-half story. This split level arrangement coupled with the consolidation of the upper floor to one side of the building allowed for generously tall main living spaces and a close connection between upper and main floors.
The client wanted a house that had an expression of craft and materiality. Heavily revealed board-formed concrete shows a soft wood grain texture and mimics the natural wood used throughout. Concrete at roof level creates the feeling that the space is solid and sculpted rather than assembled from a series of pieces. The opening created by this massive concrete frame generates a rudimentary connection to the sea and sky. Spaces feel simultaneously open and contained.
