Eaves House / Mcleod Bovell modern houses
Text description provided by the architects. Eaves House exists at the interface between a residential neighborhood below and an undeveloped wooded ravine above. The long and narrow cross section is asymmetrical with a pan handle shape. Views of English Bay, the Vancouver skyline and the Stanley Park Peninsula dot the horizon to the south and southeast. Neighborhood development in this area is regulated by specific design guidelines that encourage roof forms rather than a strong volumetric expression.
The house formally consists of a floating concrete plinth on the ground floor, which sits under two wide overhangs. The plinth forms a new “earth” in the air, which hides a large freeway in the basement floor and creates privacy by masking the road and the windows of neighboring houses below. The two extruded roof masses above similarly serve to edit the suburban foreground while framing and focusing views towards the water.
The program on the main and upper floors is stretched along the length of the square, parallel to the expansive east-flanking outdoor spaces, which allow indoor spaces to expand outwards. Front to back, the house steps out of its own way in a sequence of “views behind view” that creates an unfolding cinematic experience as one moves between rooms.
The design strategy results in an unconventional elevation at street level that – due to the low viewing angle of the approach – largely suppresses the conventional reading of walls, floors and windows. The house is primarily seen as a pair of floating planes. Between these overhangs, an improved field of vision is established, which can be enjoyed inside and out, and draws the eye beyond the immediate neighbourhood.
