THUNDERBIRD HOUSE
West Vancouver, BC, Canada
Proposed
The thunderbird house takes its form from the steep terrain it is embedded in and views to the marina and ocean below. Large multi-story retaining walls unfold across the slope, rooting the house and gardens down into the bedrock. A delicate brise soliel made of thin weathered wooden elements cloaks the house, diffusing its angular forms into the dense enveloping forest. Charred cedar cladding and black aluminum trim emerge from behind the wooden screens to punctuate the exterior.
The wooden veil conceals behind it a series of quiet and introspective interior spaces. Regulated by the competing views, the plan is composed of two orthogonal halves intersecting at an acute angle. These angles produce exciting interior moments, such as the spiraling open of the main level spatial sequence like a grand shell. Curling around a central core containing a study and powder room, the procession from entrance to kitchen arcs across 270 degrees through the primary living spaces.
