2009 / Complete / Residential / Renovation / Interior / 1800 ft²

Located in Vancouver’s historic Gastown district, this project consisted of joining two apartment units into one. With their first child due and a desire to stay in the city, the clients opted to purchase their neighbouring suite and join with their own, to create one, open concept space.

The location of existing windows, plumbing and mechanical services were fixed, with no option for repositioning within the structural concrete floor. While these restrictions challenged the design, they more importantly, presented unique opportunities that served to define the space.

Occupying the core of the the new home, the kitchen and dining area sit on a new elevated tiled floor that conceals fixed plumbing lines from the previous two suites. A wood canopy above delineates the kitchen and dining space from the adjacent circulation space, and carefully aligns with the edge of the island/bar and dining table.

To accommodate the new master ensuite bathroom plumbing layout, a similar strategy of raising the floor was used. These raised floor planes help articulate the spaces and their function- a closet and dressing area accompany the bathroom on the new raised tiled floor. The new bathroom is open to the bed, but can be closed off by means of three sliding opaque panels, affording the user their own varying degrees of privacy and light levels.

Access to a deck off the living room was enhanced by way of a folding, sliding door. The new, large opening joins the exterior and interior space and blurs the the boundary between the two. Stairs to a roof deck are revealed, and animated by an opening in the kitchen wall. Similarly, an opening in the living room storage millwork provide natural light to what was previously a dark, interior second bathroom.

• Credits
• Build / Lorenz Developments
• Structural / Structural Solutions
• Photography / Ivan Hunter