TL;DR
Get decor and gifts delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
Design Milk has featured a 7,000-square-foot West Vancouver home by Openspace Architecture, designed for two empty nesters on a site with a history dating to the 1920s. Floor-to-ceiling glazing, horizontal forms and natural materials frame the trees and landscape; the home’s design also had to meet seismic and Canadian climate performance demands.
Design Milk has featured a 7,000-square-foot West Coast modern home in West Vancouver, where Openspace Architecture used extensive glass, horizontal forms and wood and concrete finishes to frame the trees on a site above the oceanfront. The residence was designed for two empty nesters, and its compact structural assemblies had to accommodate seismic requirements and the Canadian climate, according to the report.
The three-storey house is arranged in long, horizontal sections across the site. Its main floor has an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area with floor-to-ceiling glass. Sliding doors open onto a pool terrace and outdoor dining area. The upper floor extends over the main level and contains four bedrooms, while the primary suite occupies a lower level with access to the garden.
A manufactured stream runs past the primary suite, which the report says can be heard through open sliding doors. The project’s design aims to bring landscape into everyday spaces without copying the surrounding environment: the clients wanted a minimalist modern home that would engage with its setting while remaining visually distinct.
Design Milk describes board-formed concrete walls, made by pouring concrete against wooden planks to leave their grain and texture on the surface. The walls are double-poured with rigid-foam thermal breaks, according to the report. CNC-milled ribbed hemlock ceilings, engineered fumed-oak flooring and custom-stained cedar siding and louvers add further material detail. The project photographs are credited to Ema Peter.
How the Design Meets the Site
The house’s significance in the report is its effort to balance a strong architectural presence with a site where the landscape is intended to remain central. Large windows, framed views and a restrained palette put the trees and natural light in view, while the horizontal layout and overhanging upper level give the building a distinct contemporary profile.
The project also illustrates how the visual goal depended on technical coordination. The report says the architects faced challenges in reconciling thin structural assemblies with seismic requirements and the demands of a high-performance building envelope in Canada. The concrete’s thermal breaks and the detailed coordination of ceilings, lighting, speakers and sprinklers show that the design involved more than appearance alone.
For readers, the project offers a specific example of how a home can respond to a sensitive landscape through both its form and construction. The feature does not establish the project’s cost, energy use or environmental impact, so those outcomes should not be inferred from its materials or design description.
floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
A Century-Old West Vancouver Site
The property has a history dating to the 1920s, when, according to Design Milk, it belonged to one of West Vancouver’s original land barons. A small farmhouse stood on the site but had deteriorated too far to preserve, the report says. The new residence therefore takes a contemporary approach rather than attempting to reproduce the former building.
Openspace Architecture’s response, as described in the feature, relies on transparency, natural materials and views that keep the setting visible from inside. Wood tones were selected with the trees and bark on the property in mind. The exterior cedar finishes were mixed for the site, with combinations varied according to expected patterns of light and shadow.
The report identifies Eric Pettit as a senior associate at Openspace Architecture. It describes coordination among the firm’s consultants and trades as necessary to fit the clients’ program into the structural and technical constraints. The source material does not state when construction was completed or provide additional project records.
“The clients were dedicated to a modern minimalist aesthetic that could embrace its environment while standing in stark contrast to it.”
— Eric Pettit, senior associate at Openspace Architecture
Project Details Not in the Report
The supplied report does not give the home’s street address, construction or completion dates, project cost, or details about planning approvals. It also does not provide independent measurements of energy performance, seismic performance or environmental effects. The descriptions of the home’s appearance and materials come from Design Milk’s feature, with project details attributed in part to Openspace Architecture.
The article characterizes the upper floor as cantilevering above the main floor but does not provide structural drawings or explain how that element was engineered. It is also not clear whether the farmhouse’s condition was independently assessed or when it was removed. Those details cannot be confirmed from the source material provided.
No Further Milestone Reported
The source material reports a published design feature, not a new planning decision, construction announcement or scheduled project milestone. It gives no date for a follow-up or information about additional work at the property. Further details about the building’s performance or construction history would require separate confirmation from Openspace Architecture, the owners or public records.
For now, the confirmed development is the feature’s account of the finished home and its design approach. Any claims about measured energy savings, seismic testing or broader environmental benefits remain outside what the report establishes.
Key Questions
Where is the home?
It is in West Vancouver, on a site above the oceanfront. The supplied report does not give a street address.
Who designed the house?
The home was designed by Openspace Architecture. The report quotes Eric Pettit, a senior associate at the firm.
What makes the home appear to float among the trees?
The report points to its horizontal forms, extensive glazing and relationship to the surrounding trees. The phrase describes its visual effect; it is not a literal claim that the building is suspended among the trees.
What happened to the farmhouse that was on the site?
Design Milk says a small farmhouse from the property’s earlier history had deteriorated too far to preserve. The report does not state when it was removed.
Does the report give the home’s cost or measured performance?
No. The supplied material does not provide the project’s cost or measured energy, seismic or environmental performance.
Source: rss
Fall Picks
fall essentials
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
