Located between a suburban residential neighbourhood and the rocky coastline of West Vancouver, Canada, this single-family villa aims to look like being shaped by land and sea at the same time. The house, designed by McLeod Bovell studio, refers to the shapes of the creatures that inhabit this interstitial territory of hostile conditions and resembles a rock on water.
The studio has selected local materials that are perfect for withstanding a coastal environment, such as concrete, stained Accoya wood and aluminium sheet metal: elements that add severity and privacy to the structure, characterised by clear, clean volumes.
Abandoning the reading of the project as a series of flat elevations, visible only from inaccessible spots, the architects worked on a scenographic approach in which the house can only be read by moving around and through it.
The architecture thus results dynamic and fluid, dismantling the boundaries between house and natural environment through intervals of patios and terraces on different levels, as well as projecting volumes that push the facade outwards. In continuous transformation, the surroundings also take on a primary role, as they get enclosed between stone or transparent walls, or duplicated by the reflection in the swimming pool.