Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based McLeod Bovell designed Liminal House for a couple that wanted a residence to meet their needs as soon-to-be empty nesters.
The founders of the design firm, Lisa Bovell and Matt McLeodcall, were the designers in charge of the project that took four years to complete. They named the house Liminal, reflecting the changes and transition in the owners’ life, but also in reference to where the house is located.
It is situated on a breathtaking rocky site in the affluent municipality of West Vancouver surrounded by lush nature with the Pacific Ocean literally at its doorstep. The views are spectacular over the bay toward the city of Vancouver and the University of British Columbia Endowment lands.
In addition to being situated in between an urban area and the forested mountain, Liminal House is also literally in the middle of the drama of the West Coast. The shore changes daily depending on the tides, the wind and the time of year. Huge logs, masses of kelp, tiny shells, sand, pebbles, rock and ocean creatures come and go, everything in a constant state of change, every day.
In the design of the 1,016 square-metre (10,940 sq. ft) house, the designers embraced all of these transitory and shifting aspects and further added to them by including surprising angles and varying textures and sight lines.
Materials such as concrete, glass, aluminium plate and Accoya wood were used in the three-level residence that boasts a swimming pool, two inner courtyards and a 200 square-metre (2,153 sq. ft) roof garden, all of which links it further with the surrounding nature.
A sauna, rec room, wet bar, laundry and a large area for the owners’ collection of rare sports cars occupy the lower level. The main floor includes the kitchen, dining and living rooms plus the garage, pool and a covered terrace. The upper level with its garden includes the master bedroom suite and several guest bedrooms and a larges guest suite with its own terrace.
In spite of its multitude of shifting aspects, Liminal House is not a place of confusion or discord. Rather, there is a tranquil sense of permanence and belonging that is never easy to achieve. Tuija Seipell
Images Hufton + Crow Photography
