The Cowichan Regional Visitor Centre is a new place in the Cowichan Valley for public gathering, exchange and display. It was developed as a joint venture between the BC Forest Discovery Centre, the Chambers of Commerce of the Cowichan Valley, and by the Municipalities of Duncan and North Cowichan. It has been described by locals as a “public living room” – and this vision became our mantra as the project moved forward.
This project is conceived as a domestic landscape that blurs the boundary between interior and exterior space in a temperate coastal rainforest climate. It is essentially a ranch house typology with a guest house stacked upon it – designed for a physically active empty nest couple who enjoy the idea of welcoming family home for the holidays. The domestic program is spread across the entire site, across a series of stepped platforms, and the vertical vertical circulation connecting the main floor to the upstairs is deliberately understated.
The Liard River Hot Springs project replaces the existing timber deck and change room facility that was eroding due to environmental exposure. The design addresses the needs of the rugged northern climate while creating a welcoming environment for the hot spring bathers. The project consists of new separate mens and womens changerooms, an expanded and upgraded deck, hot springs amenities and an upgraded path network.
The Southlands Residence nestles into a mature, heavily vegetated corner site in Vancouver’s historical Dunbar-Southlands neighborhood. A year-round fresh water stream divides the irregularly shaped property as it threads its way below Marine Drive to the south. The lush basin resulting from long-standing environmental forces sets the stage for a dramatic and highly contextual architectural response. The Southlands Residence spans the riparian environment and sets up a circulation sequence that culminates in a grand south facing outdoor ‘room’ on the water’s edge. The design capitalizes on moments of natural splendor in social zones while playfully borrowing from foliage and topography in the creation of private contemplative spaces.
Located at the University of Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada this building was designed to accommodate the Indigenous Graduate Student Union. The House aspires to be a welcoming home for Aboriginal students and an inclusive and healing place for the local and global Indigenous community and non-Indigenous people alike.
The building is comprised of classrooms, offices, study spaces, ceremonial space and lounges for elders and students. The design of the building is inspired aesthetically and philosophically from the indigenous Coast Salish culture. The First Peoples House embodies traditional Coast Salish building principlesin its’ ability to mediate the environment, maximize sunlight, ventilation, natural resources and local materials.
The post-and-beam Douglas Fir glulam structure, inspired by the Coast Salish longhouse, has primary components clad in Clear A 1×10 & 2×10 clear edge grain western red cedar. The cedar is salvaged logs from the northwest coast of Vancouver Island by the Dididat Nation. The building is broken into 3 discrete elements (classrooms, Ceremonial Hall, administration) connected by glazed curtain wall. The upper roof drains all water into a storm water retention pond and the lower roof is planted with indigenous grasses.
The building is passively cooled and reduces energy by use of a low velocity displacement ventilation system. This sustainable approach is inspired from the Coastal Salish Long house which had a smoke vent at the top and perimeter cedar planks at the bottom of the walls were raised to allow a low level draft for the fire pit. Modeled on this system a combination of user controlled and DDC control operable windows and vents surround the building.
One 100% outdoor Air Handling unit serves heating and ventilation requirements and feeds air below the floor at the perimeter of the building. Heating is supplied by the University central heat main system. Stratification moves air through offset acoustic louvres into the corridor where it is returned to the ventilation unit or exhausted through DDC controlled windows at the highest point in the building.
Art is integral to First Nations culture and this project incorporates carved western red cedar house posts, carved ceremonial doors and eight carved panels in its Ceremonial Hall. Woven cedar panels line the Hall walls and are inspired by the bull rush mats traditionally found in long house interiors to break the draft.
The site design incorporates existing footpaths, supplemented with the reintroduction of low-maintenance indigenous plants, waterfall and storm-water retention pond. All these natural features contribute to building’s overall calming and magnificent presence. The project received LEED Gold certification in 2011.
Uniquely modern, yet simple in nature. High quality construction, with exclusive finishes and ultra-efficient energy saving technology. Beachaus I was inspired by homes in the ultra exclusive beachfront communities found up and down the Californian coast.
Designed for active living, and built to last – this ultra modern 2085 sqft 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom home includes a large separate office/studio space and stunning bright principle spaces. Located less that 200m from Semiahmoo Bay, Beachaus I is the ultimate home for active “smart” living in this vibrant White Rock East Beach community.
Software used: designed & modeled in Sketchup before being moved over to AutoCAD. Energy modelling was done via the “Hot2000” software which is standard practice in Canada in order to determine the home’s Energuide score pre-construction and assist in making changes to the efficiency of the planned dwelling pre-construction.
Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Church is a Roman Catholic Church that seats 700 people in its main space and 100 people in its chapel. The main space and chapel can be joined together to form a single larger space for special events. The site is in Port Coquitlam, a suburban city thirty kilometers east of Vancouver. The new church shares its site with an existing church (which will be converted to a parish hall) and a school.
A 2500 square foot house for a retired couple who have an excellent collection of non figurative art. This collection, which includes paintings, works on paper and sculpture, was to be located throughout the house.
Seabird Island is a large area of delta land in the Fraser River, seventy-five miles east of the Pacific Ocean. It is the home of the Seabird Island Band, a Coastal Salish community. Mountains of the Coastal Range tower over the river valley on all sides. The interior of the island is a large open field, which is used for agriculture. Houses ring the lightly wooded perimeter. At the downstream end of the island are community buildings loosely organized in a U around a grassed common space that is open to the north.
Located at the University of British Columbia, the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) is an internationally recognized research institution whose mission is to accelerate the adoption of sustainable building and urban development practices. Housing inhabitants from private, public, and non-government organization sectors, the 5,675-square-metre ‘living lab’ maximizes passive environmental strategies and demand reduction; put sustainable systems on display; and achieves net-positive energy, net-zero water, and net-zero carbon in construction and operations. More than a building, CIRS is a research tool that demonstrates the possibilities in sustainable design, serving as a catalyst for change.
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