architect : paul merrick

built in : 1982

here is a short blurb from the listing on the house in north vancouver by the realtor:

deep cove waterfront at its best! stunning paul merrick designed contemporary on private cul-de-sac lot of over 10,000 sq.ft. dramatic open plan living, dining and kitchen with floor-to-ceiling glass exposed posts and beams, full opening sliders open onto over 1,600 sq. ft. of entertainment decks. three bedrooms plus self-contained guest/office – the large master with its own covered workout/yoga deck. over 91 feet of irreplaceable waterfront with new 45′ commercial-grade dock. level driveway with double carport and single garage. stunning water views from every window. lifestyle plus!

the plan is based on a very simple grid which creates the post and beam structure for the house. the amount of deck space is impressive. notice that even the top floor has the back wall buried into the mountainside. this was not an easy site to build on but paul merrick made the best of it, with every room having a south-facing view.

the entry to the house is unassuming. coming down a long flight of stairs which spill out onto the first of many decks, one enters though a single door directly into the main dining/living space of the house. a skylight over the entryway offers views up tot the sky and northern light. the deck continues around the house to access the lower floor decks and beach/dock.

the dining room with deck to the left and entry just beyond the wall to the right. between the dining room and living room beyond is the staircase going down to the lower floor. exposed wood structure in the house reveals the organizational grid for the layout of the house.

the living room with exposed posts and beams.

even the bedrooms feature the exposed wood structure.

a clever design feature in the stairs is placing a large pane of glass along the wall.

the south side of the house with a huge cantilever deck. carefully selected trees were kept/removed to ensure a house within the forest, but also for allowing views and natural sunlight into the house at the same time.