Acadia Residence

Vancouver, Canada

Photo © Nic Lehoux

Residential

Architects: Revery Architecture

Year: 2004

This private house, located on a corner site at the University Endowment Lands in Vancouver, forms a symbiotic relationship with its immediate landscape. With simple massing, a high degree of transparency, and an expressive roof structure, the house hugs its garden. Views unfold sequentially from the house, giving a 360-degree panorama of the surrounding landscape. The 6,000-square-foot house is organized on three levels – living on the main level, sleeping on the second, and playing in the basement.

The limited material palette of exposed concrete, glass, wood and stone renders the house a microcosm of nature. This contemporary refuge is a statement of timelessness and serenity. A roof hovering over the house like a cloud provides shelter with a sense of lightness, in spite of its visual weight. This is achieved by floating the roof above the continuous frameless clerestory windows and by lifting the four corners, similar to the eaves of traditional Chinese temple architecture. The bright basement level is lit by sunlight entering trough the house’s central glass stair well.