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A Design Milk report profiles a three-story West Vancouver home by Openspace Architecture, designed for two empty nesters on a site with a history dating to the 1920s. The house combines concrete, cedar, hemlock, oak and extensive glass; its cantilevered upper floor and horizontal lines create the impression that it sits among the trees. The source gives no construction date, project cost or independent assessment of its performance.
Openspace Architecture has designed a three-story home on a historic site above the West Vancouver oceanfront, using long horizontal forms, extensive glass and a cantilevered upper level to make the residence appear to float among the trees. A Design Milk report describes the project as a 7,000-square-foot home for two empty nesters, with its landscape and views woven into everyday living.
The house is arranged across three levels. Its main floor contains an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area framed by floor-to-ceiling glass. Sliding doors open toward a pool terrace and outdoor dining area. The upper floor, which projects over the main level, contains four bedrooms. The primary bedroom suite occupies its own lower level and has access to a garden and a manufactured stream, which the report says can be heard when the suite’s sliding doors are open.
The material palette centers on wood, concrete and glass. Board-formed concrete walls retain the imprint of the wooden planks used to shape them. Design Milk reports that the walls were double-poured with rigid foam thermal breaks, an approach intended to preserve the appearance of solid concrete while meeting thermal-envelope needs. Inside, CNC-milled ribbed hemlock ceilings, engineered fumed oak flooring and polished concrete floors add texture and reflect light.
Eric Pettit, a senior associate at Openspace Architecture, said the clients wanted a modern minimalist home that could embrace its surroundings while contrasting with them. The design team also had to coordinate compact structural assemblies with seismic requirements and the demands of the Canadian climate, according to the report. Custom-stained cedar siding and louvers were selected in combinations intended to respond to the property’s light and shadows.
Design Meets a Historic Site
The project shows how a contemporary home can make its setting a central part of its design, even while adopting a distinctly modern style. Its large expanses of glass and outdoor connections frame the surrounding landscape, while the projecting upper floor and low horizontal lines contribute to the impression that the house is suspended among the trees. That effect is an architectural description in the source, rather than a claim that the building is physically floating.
The site also links the new residence to West Vancouver’s earlier development. According to Design Milk, the land belonged to one of the area’s original land barons in the 1920s and included a small farmhouse. The farmhouse had deteriorated too much to preserve, so the project took a contemporary approach to the property rather than retaining the original structure. The report does not describe a formal heritage designation or review.
For readers interested in residential architecture, the project illustrates the practical coordination behind a restrained visual design. Pettit said the team worked with consultants and trades to fit the clients’ program into the structure. The reported combination of thin assemblies, seismic requirements and climate-related envelope demands points to constraints that shaped the work alongside its visual goals.
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From Farmhouse to New Residence
The property’s known history in the source begins in the 1920s, when it was associated with one of West Vancouver’s original land barons. A small farmhouse stood there, but Design Milk says its deterioration made preservation impractical. The report does not give the farmhouse’s age, architectural style or the precise date when it was removed.
The new clients were two empty nesters seeking what the report calls their “forever home.” Their preference for a minimalist modern design set up a tension the architects sought to resolve: the house was meant to stand in contrast to the landscape while also drawing attention to it. Natural materials, carefully framed views and custom finishes were among the means used to connect the building to its wooded setting.
Design Milk credits Openspace Architecture with the design and identifies Ema Peter as the project photographer. The supplied report does not provide a construction timeline, project budget, contractor details or information about planning approvals. Its account focuses on the design, materials and site history.
““They were dedicated to a modern minimalist aesthetic that could embrace its environment while standing in stark contrast to it.””
— Eric Pettit, senior associate at Openspace Architecture
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Project Details Not Reported
The supplied Design Milk report does not state when the home was completed, how much it cost or whether it is occupied. It also provides no measurements of energy use, thermal performance or seismic performance, so those outcomes cannot be assessed from the article alone. The reported thermal breaks and structural coordination describe design and construction approaches, not verified performance results.
The report does not identify the site’s address, describe its planning or heritage status, or explain when the farmhouse was removed. It also does not say whether the manufactured stream uses recirculated water or how it is maintained. No further project updates or future milestones are given in the source material.
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No Further Milestone Listed
The source presents the home as a completed architectural project but does not announce a pending construction phase, opening date or other next step. It also does not say whether the owners plan to make the property available for tours or public visits. Design Milk’s report and project photographs provide the available account; any update on occupancy, performance or future access would require additional information from the owners, architects or other project sources.
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Key Questions
Where is the home?
Design Milk places it on a historic site above the West Vancouver oceanfront. The supplied report does not give an address.
Who designed the house?
Openspace Architecture designed the residence. Eric Pettit, a senior associate at the firm, discussed the clients’ brief and the team’s coordination in the report.
What makes the house appear to float among the trees?
The report points to the home’s horizontal massing, extensive glass and upper level that projects over the main floor. “Float” describes the visual effect; the source does not suggest the house is physically suspended.
What happened to the farmhouse on the property?
Design Milk says a small farmhouse stood on the site in its earlier history but had become too deteriorated to preserve. The report does not provide a removal date or further details about the building.
How large is the residence?
The source describes it as a 7,000-square-foot home. It does not say whether that figure refers to interior floor area or includes other space.
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