Dowsley
Project Details
Location
North Vancouver
Consultants
- Architect - Kevin Vallely
- Structural - Ennova Structural Engineers
- Photography - Chris Rollett
Preserved and Renewed
A renovation and addition to a 1960s post-and-beam home for a young family with an affection for mid-century architecture. The brief asked for a contemporary family home that didn't sacrifice what made the original worth saving.
Strengthened Structure
The existing house was taken down to the studs—a deteriorating structure straightened and reinforced, the envelope rebuilt to current performance standards. The original roof expression was protected throughout: deep cantilevered eaves, exposed rafters, and the horizontal lines that give the house its mid-century character. A new principal suite wing and garage were added in the same architectural language as the original: the flat roof with its deep overhangs and the horizontal cedar banding.
Tied Together
A vertical cedar slat screen runs as a through-line—cladding the new wing's street face, wrapping the entry as a fin wall against the brick, and reappearing inside at the mudroom and upper stair landing, tying the addition to the original and the exterior to the interior. The result reads as the original architect intended, with sixty more years of life ahead of it.
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