Exposing the Geology | Saturna Island, Canada

Andrew’s private home in a pristine and amazing location in BC Canada. The idea behind the personal design/architecture is about modestly fitting the home into the site and experiencing the landscape in all its drama…. Architecture and landscaping are constantly connected.

The concept of a volume floating above the grassy meadow appears to be very well done. The design of the house is simple. It is a rectangular box placed on a long concrete wall. The concrete wall below the living volume acts as an artificial rock wall, inspired by the linear natural rock walls already present in the grassy meadow.

The house design is one open space with an area of about 100 square meters. Within the one space, several subspaces are created by a central unit housing the kitchen, bathroom and a walk-in closet. The result is a compact, functional, simple space, but with a surprising spatial experience.

This amazing landscape needs only minimal and subtle landscaping. A modest composition reduced to its essence to activate the beauty of the site. The hardscaping consists of locally collected sandstone that has been used in various ways. And from a floating deck of local cedar and rectangular concrete tiles.

The planting consists of a base of native and local trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials along with a subtle selection of non-invasive bulbs, perennials and biennials. Everything serves the natural identity of the landscape. It is about not removing the natural tapestry and ecosystem, but adding and enriching it.