A crazy site! But one of the greatest things about Architecture is having lots of constraints. The more constraints, the more inventive you have to be. The existing site can be viewed from Sharryn and Tobias' existing house. The site drops steeply from the road, almost a 25 ft sheer drop down to a flat site, with retaining walls below. The site has incredible views South-West back towards Whistler and over the Rainbow development.
Rather than doubling up on site work, we turned the building into a giant retaining wall, holding back the road. Inside, the building steps down three levels, with the main floor having a mixture of single and double height spaces. The spaces with interconnecting bridges are filled with light.. The bedrooms are placed on the quiet lower floor which will be cool in the summer, and well insulated in the winter. The narrow plans also allows for a yard for the young family, something the client didn't expect to receive from such a steep site.
