2024 / Complete / Residential / Renovation / Interior / Addition / 2980 ft²

Shoreline house is located at the end of a suburban street, between traditional single family development and a section of natural rugged coastline. Its character is marked by natural rocky outcrops, mature fir and oak trees and 180 degree views of the inlet.

The clients came to us after purchasing the property, with a list of objectives for a new home. Given it’s immediate adjacency to the ocean and sensitive habitat, we chose the design option with the least environmental impact – to renovate and add on to the existing 1960s house, rather than demolish and start over with new construction.

Site parameters, including strict setbacks to the waterfront, defined a small, irregular shaped area for the addition, which consisted of the primary bedroom and ensuite. We responded with a compact footprint – a single storey layout that lightly touches down onto the landscape. Concrete foundation walls are recessed from the exterior framed walls as a means to eliminate over excavation into the marine protected area and provide a pronounced levity to the structure. The roof hovers 13 feet over a cantilevered screen wall, stretching out to an emphatic point.

A colonnade-lined staircase choreographs circulation to the front door.
Clad in a light stained cedar, the addition contrasts formally and materially to the shed roof forms of the original house. Dark finished walls and roofs complement the gnarly granite shoreline. The reconciling of tensions – old versus new, wild versus tamed, inside versus outside, were themes explored throughout the project.

In the landscape, patios and walkways dovetail into the native vegetation and topography, without overwhelming them. Large windows with frames concealed by interior finishes, blur inside and outside space, while others are calibrated for focused views out. Collectively, they orchestrate an interior animation of ever-changing light quality amplified by ocean reflections.

• Credits
• Design / Nigel Parish, Tomas Machnikowski, Galo Oyarce
• Build / Mdrn Built
• Structural / Aspect Structural Engineers
• Photography / Ema Peter