Art + Design
Reside
Contemporary West Coast Houses
Michael J. Prokopow, PhD
Introduction by Clinton Cuddington
Stunning contemporary houses illuminate the enduring and evolving influence of the West Coast Modern architectural style in B.C.
Buy Book
Introduction by Clinton Cuddington
Stunning contemporary houses illuminate the enduring and evolving influence of the West Coast Modern architectural style in B.C.
Buy Book“This generation of designers applied their skills […] to craft bespoke houses in once-unimaginable locations, the cumulative effects of which put British Columbia on the architectural map.”
—Michael Prokopow
Decades after gaining international recognition through the work of practitioners such as Barry Downs, Arthur Erickson, and Ron Thom, the West Coast Modern style remains widely celebrated and highly influential for residential architects in British Columbia and beyond, even as its expressions evolve and adapt to contemporary contexts. What are the contours of its legacy today—and has a new regional style emerged?
To explore these questions, Clinton Cuddington, co-principal of Measured Architecture, invited dozens of B.C.-based architects to share residential projects that exemplify their design process. Their responses range from palatial mountain chalets to cabins sitting lightly in the forest to oceanfront retreats to sensitive urban renovations. Each house is presented through full-colour photos by professional photographers including Andrew Latreille and Ema Peter, and accompanied by short essays by curator and critic Michael Prokopow that draw on visits to each house and interviews with the architects to elucidate the many aesthetic and programmatic accomplishments on display. The houses are grouped by typology within Mountain, Forest, Shore, and City sections, and followed by profiles of each firm with photos of additional work.
As Prokopow details in an incisive essay, each house is necessarily also a response to the conditions of its creation, notably its site—locations include the Sea-to-Sky Region, Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, Southern Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the West Kootenays—as well as its social and cultural context, and so is revealing of modern ideas about home and family, leisure and vocation, ecological concerns and communion with nature on Canada’s West Coast.
With thoughtful, deeply informed prose and over 300 captivating photos, Reside is an absorbing and inspiring tour of some of the most exceptional houses in the country, and a portrait of how the unique character of the region is expressed in built form.
CONTENTS
West Coast Modern House: The Next Generation, by Clinton Cuddington
Preface
The Houses, by Michael Prokopow
Mountain
Forest
Shore
City
The “BC Idiom” Revisited: The Contemporary House in the Millennial Age, by Michael Prokopow
The Firms
Acknowledgements
Notes
About the Authors
“Whether you live in B.C. or just want to channel its coastal vibe into a more landlocked holiday home, this book captures how vast expanses of glass and natural materials are used to frame jaw dropping vistas.”
The Globe and Mail
“Not just to beautifully ornament a coffee table, but an anthropology of the new wave of architects literally building the future of how British Columbians will live.”
Montecristo
“Thoughtful commentary touches on the history and culture of the different sites, the composition and materials of each project, and the experience of moving through the houses.”
Canadian Architect
Architectural Record
“At the very least, this book offers a daydreaming opportunity as you turn the pages.”
Vancouver Sun
“Embark on a visual journey through West Coast modern architecture”
Western Living