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Openspace Architecture designed a three-story, 7,000-square-foot home on a historic West Vancouver site, using glass, concrete and wood to connect the residence with its wooded setting. The original report describes the home’s layout and construction, but does not provide a completion date, project cost or details about approvals.
Openspace Architecture’s three-story, 7,000-square-foot West Vancouver home is designed to sit lightly among the trees on a historic site above the oceanfront, according to a report by Design Milk. Its long horizontal forms, broad expanses of glass and cantilevered upper level give the residence the appearance of floating in its wooded setting, while its layout and materials were developed to meet structural and climate demands.
The home was commissioned by two empty nesters seeking a minimalist residence, Design Milk reported. The open-plan main floor combines the living room, dining area and kitchen, with floor-to-ceiling glazing and sliding doors opening onto a pool terrace and outdoor dining area. The arrangement makes the surrounding landscape visible from much of the principal living space.
The house contains three levels. The primary bedroom suite is on a lower level with access to a garden, beside a manufactured stream that the report says can be heard when the sliding doors are open. Four additional bedrooms occupy the upper floor, which projects out over part of the main floor. Design Milk identifies Ema Peter as the photographer of the project.
The reported material palette combines board-formed concrete, cedar, hemlock and oak. The concrete walls retain impressions of wooden planks used to form them; the report says they incorporate rigid-foam thermal breaks. Ribbed, CNC-milled hemlock ceilings and custom-stained exterior cedar are among the other specified details. The architects also worked through 35 samples to settle on a deep walnut stain, according to the report.
Designing Around the West Coast Site
The project shows how a contemporary home can respond to a wooded, historically developed site without reproducing the style of its former building. The original farmhouse on the property, which dated to the site’s earlier history, had deteriorated too far to preserve, according to Design Milk. The new residence takes a different approach: it uses transparency, natural materials and framed views to keep the landscape central to the experience of the house.
The design also reflects practical constraints behind a dramatic appearance. Eric Pettit, a senior associate at Openspace Architecture, told Design Milk that the clients wanted thin, compact structural assemblies. The team also had to address seismic requirements and the Canadian climate’s high-performance envelope demands. The project illustrates the coordination required to reconcile a visually light design with structural and energy-performance needs; the report does not supply technical test results or independent evaluations of its performance.
For readers interested in architecture, the house offers a specific example of how massing, glazing and carefully selected finishes can connect a residence to its surroundings. Its significance here is architectural rather than a reported change to local policy or a broader development trend.
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A Century-Old Property Rebuilt
Design Milk traces the property’s history to the 1920s, when it belonged to one of West Vancouver’s original land barons and included a small farmhouse. The report says the farmhouse had become too deteriorated to preserve. It does not identify the former owner or provide a detailed account of the site’s subsequent ownership and use.
Openspace Architecture’s response was to use a distinctly contemporary design, rather than to reconstruct or imitate the earlier farmhouse. The residence is organized in long horizontal forms across the site. Its large windows and polished concrete floors bring daylight into the interior, while wood tones were selected with reference to the trees and bark on the property, according to the report.
The available account is a design feature based on the architects’ project information and photographs by Ema Peter. It documents the design intent and named materials, but does not provide a construction timeline, a budget, the address, or independent reporting on planning and permitting.
“The clients had a strong vision.”
— Eric Pettit, senior associate at Openspace Architecture, as quoted by Design Milk
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Project Details Not in the Report
The supplied report does not state when construction began or finished, what the residence cost, or whether the house is occupied. It also gives no address, floor-area breakdown by level, or information about planning approvals, permits or any heritage review connected to the former farmhouse.
Design Milk reports the architects’ account of the home’s design and construction details, but the supplied material does not include independent confirmation of the building’s energy performance, seismic performance or environmental effects. The description of the house as appearing to float among trees is an architectural impression, not a claim that it is physically elevated above the site.
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No Further Milestone Reported
The supplied source does not identify a forthcoming opening, public event or additional project milestone. It also does not say whether Openspace Architecture plans to release further information about the home. For now, the available account is a completed design description focused on the house’s layout, materials and relationship to its site; any construction dates, costs or performance figures remain unreported.
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Key Questions
Where is the home?
It is described as a residence in West Vancouver, on a historic site above the oceanfront. The supplied report does not give a street address.
Who designed the house?
Openspace Architecture designed the residence. Eric Pettit, a senior associate at the firm, discussed the project with Design Milk.
How large is the home, and how is it arranged?
Design Milk describes it as a 7,000-square-foot, three-story home. The main floor contains the living, dining and kitchen areas; the lower level includes the primary suite; and four other bedrooms are upstairs.
What materials give the home its appearance?
The reported palette includes glass, board-formed concrete, cedar, hemlock and engineered fumed oak. The large windows and horizontal forms help connect the interior to the trees and landscape.
What is known about the old farmhouse on the site?
Design Milk says the property included a small farmhouse in the 1920s and that it was ultimately too deteriorated to preserve. The report provides no further details about its history or the review process for the new residence.
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