Sculptural bones of new build catch the eye
Architect Jim Campbell and builder John Gordon have both been getting questions about their latest project, from curious passersby.
What looks from the 9/10 Sideroad like a series of walls reminiscent of drive-in theatre screens, will by the end of the year be a sprawling bungalow that will blend in with the landscape.
Campbell says, “rest assured, it is just a house and not a bomb-shelter, subway station or heliport.”
Gordon said it’s not the biggest house he has built but stretching 250 feet, it is the longest.
The 6,000 square foot five-bedroom house will have few windows on one side and a 16-foot glass wall on the other to maximize the view. The sliding windows have 10-foot openings onto a full porch, level with the main floor.
It will be a summer and weekend getaway for Shawn Thompson and Kathryn From, along with their two children, family and guests.
They say they set out to build a one-storey home offering peace and quiet. From said the space is designed to allow for people to congregate in the open concept kitchen and great room area but also allow people to escape to quiet out-of-the-way spaces in two wings, one for the master suite and the other for bedrooms for the children and guests.
They said they talked to many architects but chose Campbell because of his vision, collaborative nature and knowledge of the area.
Currently, people are seeing the blueish styrofoam building blocks that make up the supporting walls. They have a cement core, which acts as insulation, adding to the efficiency of the home.
“It is making a big visual statement right now but it will blend into the landscape,” said Campbell.
Campbell said the idea was to build land art that fits with the hill. The bones of the house are influenced by the work of sculptor Richard Serra and have been positioned to frame selected views of the landscape as well as respond to the prevailing north and west winter winds.
The walls, which Campbell has coined the “McLeod walls” in honour of the McLeod family who inhabited this property until recently, will be finished in grey cement, with the remaining walls, that have yet to be built, finished in dark bronze. A flat roof will be made of Douglas Fir.
“So what is currently visible all the way from Cashtown will be much harder to see from beyond the property once complete,” said Campbell.
The design also embraces the principles of organic architect Frank Lloyd Wright who said, “No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other.”
There have already been 4,500 seedlings added to the 50-acre property and there are plans to add more mature trees, for added privacy.
