West Vancouver: Renovation honours architectural legend Barry Downs

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West Vancouver house will get a modern improve future honouring overdue admirable Canadian architect

Printed Might 09, 2024 • Ultimate up to date 5 mins in the past • 4 modest learn

This 1966-built West Vancouver house, designed via mythical West Coast Trendy Canadian architect Barry Downs, and his skilled spouse on the month, Fred Hollingsworth, just lately underwent a renovation designed via Burgers Structure – which retained the heritage appear and feel of the construction future upgrading the interiors for contemporary residing. Photograph via Andrew Latreille

Architect Cedric Burgers wasn’t mincing phrases: “If you don’t buy it, I will,” he informed Tanya and Scott McMillan, at an i’m free space for what would grow to be their West Vancouver house.

The couple had requested Burgers to attach them and provides his two cents at the house’s doable. And he had realized that the 1966-built space was once at the start designed via overdue admirable Canadian architect Barry Downs.

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“The house was beautifully built for its time; a well-crafted West Coast Modern mid-century house with a flat roof,” says Burgers.

It was once 2016, and the McMillans had been coming back from a stint residing in Untouched Zealand with their 3 youngsters, elderly 7, 9 and 10. The house, with its immense, i’m free rooms, extensive home windows and North Shore woodland environment, appeared like a super park to land.

“We loved the bones, the clean lines and the large windows. It was set in this natural landscape and had a great indoor-outdoor connection,” says Tanya. “We knew it was going to need some work, but Cedric educated us on the history of Barry Downs and his contributions to architecture in Canada. Knowing the history and the relevance, we jumped at the opportunity.”

In the home's two-storey living room, the design team used cedar panelling matching the home's exterior siding for a focal point wall that runs from inside to out. Zinc panelling gave a crumbling brick fireplace new life, while custom-cut window panes slotted into the home's original cherry-stained wood frames. — In the house’s two-storey lounge, the design crew impaired cedar panelling alike the house’s external siding for a point of interest wall that runs from within to out. Zinc panelling gave a crumbling brick hearth untouched hour, future custom-cut window panes slotted into the house’s untouched cherry-stained plank frames. Photograph via Andrew Latreille

Large basaltina porcelain floor tiles run throughout the home, the terrace and the pool surround. — Massive basaltina porcelain surface tiles run during the house, the terrace and the puddle encompass. Photograph via Andrew Latreille

Burgers was once extremely joyful to paintings on a house with this sort of pedigree, as intent on honouring Downs’ visual as modernizing. Amongst alternative upgrades, the challenge would come with structural reinforcements, untouched ground and home windows during, a untouched kitchen and eating section, order changes, and a untouched wing accommodating a untouched number one suite and a puddle.

As soon as draft drawings had been whole, Tanya invited Downs himself — who took place to are living close by on the month — over to have a look. “He used to walk his dog around our block,” she says. “We wanted to include his suggestions because we wanted the renovation to feel like it was part of the original design and not an add-on.”

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With this in thoughts, the home keeps maximum of its untouched mode and profile, with its access on lead and 3 flooring stepping indisposed the hillside. The pavilion-like untouched addition juts off the base surface, future a machine of conserving partitions replaces a sloping ground on the again to build approach for a patio and puddle.

A series of retaining walls filled a sloping garden to make way for a new pool and patio, floored in the same porcelain tile as the home's interior spaces. — A sequence of conserving partitions stuffed a sloping ground to build approach for a untouched puddle and patio, floored in the similar porcelain tile as the house’s inner areas. Photograph via Andrew Latreille

“I explained to Barry what we were trying to do, and he was very receptive,” says Burgers. Now not most effective did Downs keep in mind the untouched house, however he was once gracious in regards to the proposed adjustments, writing a letter of aid to the District of West Vancouver. The District in the end authorized the challenge — even the setback-exceeding addition — contingent on holding the house’s heritage price.

Within, the areas were thru two renovations because the 60s, making a form of esthetic hodgepodge. So, the crew’s first step was once to peel again those layers, after repair up to imaginable to untouched situation, future refreshing the house for contemporary residing.

The house’s centrepiece, after and now, is the two-storey lounge, the place floor-to-ceiling cedar panelling, with a charred and stain-rubbed end, now suits the house’s external siding, for indoor-outdoor tide. Zinc panelling gave a crumbling brick hearth untouched hour, future untouched tradition window panes slotted into untouched cherry-stained plank frames. The impact is clean-lined, but in addition textured plenty to really feel welcoming.

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“We love being there watching movies with a fire going, and nice light. Especially in the winter, we spend a lot of time in there together,” says Tanya.

Within the untouched wing, immense home windows fit the texture of the ones within the untouched house, however with fashionable glass-to-glass nook joins for even wider perspectives; one thing Burgers imagines that Downs would have accomplished himself, if the generation were to be had in his month.

On the home's lower floor, a pavilion-like new addition houses a new primary suite, thoughtfully designed to blend with the look and feel of the original structure, overlooking the swimming pool and the surrounding forest. — At the house’s decrease surface, a pavilion-like untouched addition properties a untouched number one suite, thoughtfully designed to mix with the feel and appear of the untouched construction, overlooking the swimming puddle and the environment woodland. Photograph via Andrew Latreille

Walnut millwork, grey tile and marble counters create a serene setting for the primary ensuite. — Walnut millwork, gray tile and marble counters assemble a peaceful environment for the main ensuite. Photograph via Andrew Latreille

An open-plan kitchen and eating room exchange tucked-away rooms standard of the house’s future, conserving the untouched home windows to border the woodland view, with immense untouched skylights and a white palette to embellish additional.

“When you look through (the home), you’re always connecting to the outside,” says Burgers.

In consequence, the home is now very a lot the woodland sanctuary the nation envisioned after they first toured all of it the ones years in the past, says Tanya. “It’s almost like a holiday when you’re at home,” she says. “In the winter, you see all the snow on the mountains when you’re sitting in the kitchen, and in the summer, it’s like a tropical little paradise.”

The design team wanted to restore as much as possible to original condition, while refreshing and updating the home for modern living. — The design crew sought after to revive up to imaginable to untouched situation, future refreshing and updating the house for contemporary residing. Photograph via Andrew Latreille

Downs wasn’t ready to talk over with the renovated house prior to he passed on to the great beyond in 2022, however Burgers hopes he would have authorized. Then all, from the entrance, the construction seems virtually because it did in 1966 — apart from for a row of Douglas fir bushes, that have been saplings on the month of building and now tower to 100 toes elevated, rivalling the environment cedars.

“If this had been a new build, all the trees would have come down,” says Burgers. “But those beautiful trees have grown in and around the house. The roots and foundation have settled into their way of living with each other.” And the home into its then future.

Architectural Design: Burgers Structure

Internal Design: Marieke Burgers

Building: Jason Lorenz, Lorenz Tendencies

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