A home nested in the space between ocean and cliff.

The Eagle Harbour house is situated on an undulating strip of steep, rocky shoreline in West Vancouver’s Eagle Harbour. The lot, chosen for its central waterfront location and existing dock, is sited next to a bustling waterway at the entrance to a large, protected marina.

This location serves as a launch pad for the family’s seaborn excursions on their yacht, and as a refuge to recharge and shelter. The home accommodates a diversity of living arrangements; a basement suite with a separate access, a garden suite, and children’s bedrooms on the upper floor adjacent the bedrock cliffs.

The architectural expression of the home began with simple shed-like volumes perched on the rocks, which were modified slightly to accommodate the natural contours of the rock and to face the views of islands in the distance. The upper floors are organized along a spine running down the centre of the house, with rooms and void spaces arrayed along this datum. Roofs are supported by a series of expressed steel moment frames along the spine, like ribs of a great upturned creature, with soft clear hemlock cladding on the walls and ceilings. By modifying a linear plan with a visible structure to accommodate the natural contours of the site, the experience of the house is reassuringly familiar but breaks with the monotony of a linear plan. The main floor extends unimpeded to the outside pool deck, with finishes streaming seamlessly from inside to out, through the pool and down.

A five story vertical shaft containing an elevator transports family and guests to dock level, and provides a vertical punctuation on the west side of the home.

Design: Cedric Burgers, Nada Awadi