Inspired design embraces site's uniqueness

A home and the land it sits upon are inextricably joined in a marriage that can be as fulfilling as it can be fruitless.

Designers and architects understand this connection and make site planning the first order of B business when designing a new home.

Be it a rolling pasture or a precipitous cliff, every house is joined to a site that should directly inform its massing and layout. The unique characteristics of a property are essential cues in the formation of a design and should be seen as opportunities to embrace rather than obstacles to overcome.

Many of the finest examples of residential architecture are inspired responses to distinct qualities of a unique site. Arthur Erickson's Smith Residence built in West Vancouver in 1964 boldly bridges two granite outcroppings that, to a less gifted designer, might have been seen as a hindrance rather than an inspiration.

Supported on huge fir beams that bridge between the two outcroppings, the fully glazed living room floats above the surrounding landscape and spans the courtyard entry below. It's a masterpiece of residential design, revealed by the challenges of a demanding site rather than in spite of one.

I was approached recently by a couple wanting to build a new home on a small, steeply sloping site, facing the ocean. The 25-foot-wide and 100-foot-long site was distinctive enough because of its tiny footprint but the fact that it dropped almost 60 feet over its length (imagine a doubles tennis court tilted at 45 degrees and you get the picture of the site) made the property truly unique. The clients wished to create a small, efficiently designed home that would capture expansive views to the ocean while still maintaining a sense of privacy from directly adjacent neighbouring properties.

The unique site profoundly shaped the design of the building with its mass sliding down the steep site and terminating in a dramatic cantilever extending out into space to the ocean. Large openings facing the water mixed with strategically located horizontal windows on the sides of the house provide a stunning panoramic view while still shielding views to adjacent properties.

The main living spaces feel like they're floating above the ocean, fully capturing the surrounding beauty, while still maintaining a strong sense of privacy. What at first glance looked like an impossibly difficult site to work with proved, in the end, to be the catalyst for a distinct building expression.

Looking for the essential "CUES" from your site is an easy acronym to remember when approaching site design:

• Capture views and sun. Layout your house to best utilize view corridors and sun. Don't build your house on the sunny spot of your lot but rather adjacent to it. Try to maximize those south facing outdoor spaces. Look to bringing that winter sun into the house while keeping the summer rays at bay.

• What's Unique about your property? It might be a cliff, a view or a just a big, bright yard but this special feature can play an important role in the design of your house. Embrace this uniqueness and treat it as an inspiration rather than an obstacle.

• Understand the Essence of the site. Try to work with the site rather than force something on it. The placement of structures, roads, gardens and outdoor areas should enhance the site rather than take from it.

• Be Strategic in the placement of your house and the landscaping. Use the building itself to screen unwanted views and create private zones. Be creative with your landscaping. It too can work as an effective tool to separate public and private areas.

Dream home nightmare

Photograph by: NEWS photo, Cindy Goodman

Spending the Christmas holidays in a cabin, snowbound with friends, is the ideal way to unwind and relax, allowing one to take stock from the year passed and make plans for the year ahead.

Setting aside the stresses of daily life for a time is the raison d'être of a holiday retreat after all, but not for close friends of mine.

Their dream of building a cabin on the slopes of an Okanagan ski resort was realized a couple years back as they eagerly anticipated years of fun and relaxation in their newly built winter retreat. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

They undertook their construction project the right way. They hired a reputable designer to help them with their plans, they submitted drawings to the municipal authorities as required and they hired a seemingly competent builder to construct and oversee their project until completion.

As most folks do - and should do - my friends depended heavily on the competence and professionalism of the builder to see the construction of their home done right. Their builder was strong on the charismatic end and was very good at selling his services but, as it played out, had little else to offer.

As the project moved through construction my friends would discover that the original budget issued to them by their builder was simply a low-ball guess rather than a considered estimate, and by the end of the project would see it grow to double the original amount.

Sadly, the problems didn't end there. This particular builder didn't follow the construction documents issued to him and simply omitted or 'forgot' features as he saw fit. The plan was altered, a dumb-waiter was forgotten and the wine cellar was included in the in-floor radiant heating system (it's currently being heated and cooled simultaneously to achieve its required temperature).

Fundamental construction details were botched as well. The main roof drainpipe, which runs down the centre of the house, wasn't buried deep enough at grade and consequently was affected sub-zero temperatures. Water in the pipe would freeze and create a dam, backing up drain water onto the roof, creating ice dams and roof leaks. The problem got so bad that the ice poured over the face of the house and worked itself into the exterior walls.

There are scores of other issues with the house (too many to discuss here) but the definitive proof that this builder was the classic "cowboy" was in the detailing of the roof supports.

The three-storey building has exterior columns that support the roof structure above and intermediate decks between. The columns run from roof to grade, one atop the other, transferring the considerable load of a snow-covered, flat-roof to the foundation below. It was discovered that the columns at the intermediate levels were not continuous but rather sat atop a layer of half-inch plywood at deck level with no blocking or structure below to transfer the load to the column beneath it.

This scenario is as sobering as it is scary, creating the potential for structural failure of catastrophic proportion. This wasn't a simple omission either. It would be discovered that this detail was standard for this builder on a number of similar projects.

Fortunately for my friends they're covered under the National Home Warranty service and their construction issues are being rectified, but the project and its problems are a wake-up call. Where was the designer in the building process? Where were the inspectors? Where was the structural engineer? There are many questions still unanswered but at its basics, there was an individual overseeing the construction of this project that was in no position to do so.

Rumour has it that this fellow is still working but I suspect this latest fiasco will put his construction career to rest (there are a total of five projects on the hill with similar issues created by the same fellow).

In stark contrast to builder above, the qualified builder or general contractor is a professional who takes an architect's and designer's conceptual ideas and makes them into a built reality. They'll have a track record of successful built projects to their name and a list of happy clients to back up their claims. They'll never start a job without first signing a contract and they'll always carry the necessary liability insurance and worker's compensation coverage to protect their client and themselves. Through it all, the builder will assume complete responsibility for the contracted work and will provide a full warranty for it when it's done.

I encourage anyone embarking on a construction project to do their homework and find an experienced and reputable builder to work with. Do this and one will have the peace of mind at the start of their project that their job will be done right, on time and on budget.

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