A narrow 50’ x 130’ city block with very limited views, the brief for this project was challenging: create both dramatic views to the southwest from the living area and maximize privacy. The result is a home where the floor plan is entirely reversed- bedrooms in the basement and living spaces on the top floor, with cantilevered outdoor living areas off the top floor creating covered outdoor areas below.

The home’s materials are simple and refined: yellow cedar louvred privacy fins, and cementitious panels, with large expanses of glass set upon a concrete base. The home redefines what is possible on a mid-block lot, and parts with the notion that bedrooms need to be upstairs. Sometimes the rules need to be completely broken.

Design: Cedric Burgers, Isabelle Mirabaud, Marieke Burgers, Dana Lineham