Alpha Drive Residence is a three bedroom home located in the Brentwood neighbourhood in Burnaby, BC. Two storey bungalows built between 1940-1950 form the fabric of the streetscapes in the neighbourhood. An unconventional triangular property on a hill presented an unprecedented opportunity to explore massing options unfamiliar to the neighbourhood.
The "L" shape floor plan forms two wings on the living level separating the floor plates into two wings. An entertaining wing with a formal living and dining room leading out onto a patio on one end and a family wing with the mud room, kitchen and family room on the other anchored by a stair and hallway at their intersection. The light filled stair leads up to the bedroom level where two bedrooms, a bath and the master suite are perched above the street overlooking the city to the south.
The basement houses an in-law suite accessed from a sunken well in the front yard. The remaining area of basement is occupied by servant spaces and a generous recreational room for the principal dwelling.
The facade of the building follows a consistent rhythm with punctuated openings in dark frames shaded by appropriate overhangs along the south, east and west facades, bookended by stone chimneys at the ends of the "L". The soffits of the overhangs are clear coated hemlock to accent the smooth stucco facade and the black longboard siding. Light and dynamic plants provide a fluid foreground for the cubic geometry of the home.