2020 / Complete / Residential / New Build / House / 7400 ft²

The Gu House is located on a sloped, triangular lot, directly below a busy highway. Designed for a young family of four, the house is a faceted “C” shape, that envelops a protected south facing courtyard, and buffers noise from the adjacent highway.

The main entry is located at the middle of the “C” where the house splits into two volumes. On the ground floor, kitchen, dining and living spaces occupy one side, while extended family quarters and an office, serve the other. On the upper floor, an uninterrupted skylight – a continuation of the exterior wall glazing, spans from front to back, accentuating the division of use and architectural organization, while providing views up to the tall cedar and fir trees.

Openings on the north side of the house are limited to one large, double height window in the vaulted kitchen space, connecting the interior to the landscape and meandering garden path that leads to a small, multi-use studio. Views back from the garden through the window, are animated by circulation on the bridge to the primary bedroom, that spans over the kitchen.

While exterior geometries are sharply defined by a contrasting palette of black stained cedar cladding and white fiber cement panels, the interior is composed of complementing wood tones and neutrals.

• Credits
• Design / Nigel Parish, Tomas Machnikowski, Ewing Cho, Nick Macleod
• Build / Powers Construction
• Structural / Aspect Structural Engineers
• Landscape / splyce design (hardscape) Botanica (softscape)
• Photography / Sama Jim Canzian