Add To Collection
Add to Collection
TREE:hugger
TREE:hugger
BC, Canada
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
TREE:hugger
BC, Canada
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2012
SIZE
1000 sqft - 3000 sqft
Vancouver Island comprises 300 linear miles of temperate rainforest biome ranging from snowy peaks to wild beaches. The project site, rising just three meters above sea level, forms part of a protected riparian coastline in the heart of the wind-swept Oyster River Basin flood plain. The geometric dwelling acts as two organically interconnected frames, one mineral and one of wood which float above a virtually undisturbed site between one of the world’s richest marine tidal ecosystems to the northeast and a wetland preserve to the southwest. The extremely limited lot was dominated by a traversing grove of 350-year-old Douglas fir trees into which the home was surgically inserted in order to share their shelter which provides essential habitat for bald eagles and a host of other wildlife.
Preserving these majestic trees and pristine coast became a departure point for the siting strategy and formal language of the house and landscape. Existing setback requirements intended to protect the riparian habitat conflicted with this goal and needed to be amended. By proposing an elevated, split volume the central tree stand could be saved while the undisturbed ground upon which their roots depended could be protected by an integrally vegetated seawall developed in collaboration with the Federal Oceans and Fisheries department and coastal engineers allowing the owner and his young family to restore the shore with native vegetation while securing the needed development variance.
Two interconnected buildings protect and reinforce the stand of giant firs while accommodating a hybrid program. The Main-house, is an isolated wood tube, comprised of two bedroom suites set off of a double-height living area, which creates an giant aperture framing both the Canadian Rockies (across the Georgia Straight) and the coastal wetlands (to the landward side). While a semi-enclosed bridge extends through the trees from the seasonally closable Guest house (cement clad landward frame) under which cars may park in an unconditioned porte-cochère concealed by folding translucent panels.
Vehicles are confined to the road “pad” (which is the only part of the house that sits on grade) protected by the elevated Guest-house volume. As the entry threads through the four-foot-diameter tree trunks towards the waterfront it rises seven feet into the air (above the flood plain). A series of piloti, each individually surveyed and hand-excavated, avoid the tree roots below supports the Main house, allowing water and air to reach the soil below, thus creating a “transparent footprint” that minimizes the structure’s impact on the native ecology, particularly the trees. The low-impact vegetated seawall, built into the existing waterfront boundary, capitalizes on existing topography to break storm-swell energy. While supporting and enhancing the riparian habitat, It also provides exceptional protection against coastal erosion and is designed to enable the beach and littoral zone to develop and thrive over time.
The material palette is drawn from the rocky beaches that form the site’s shifting boundaries. The Main house is clad in the local Douglas fir with deep protective eaves, stained grey to match the sun-bleached drift wood logs that litter the coast. Program elements such as interior baths, outdoor showers, storage, and kitchen cabinetry are all integrated into this thick rain-screen “frame”. In contrast, the elevated Guest house is mineral in nature poetically connected to the land it is constructed of fiber-reinforced concrete siding and steel. It hovers on a skeletal steel volume enclosed with translucent, thermo-plastic doors, which form a ghostly diaphragm at night.
Product Spec Sheet
Were your products used?
Join as a manufacturer to add your products.