De Vries House

De Vries House
© William Green

DE VRIES HOUSE

Mackay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects

AREA
2200 ft²

LOCATION
Liverpool, Cana

CATEGORY
Residential

PHOTOGRAPHS
William Green

MANUFACTURER
Bosch, Cape Cod, Grohe, Kohler, Commdoor Aluminum, Galvalume

BUILDER
GR Kilgour constructions

STRUCTURE ENGINEER
Campbell Comeau Engineering Limited

YEAR
2016

This is a house for a retired writer returning to Canada from the United States with a fantastic book collection. The scheme creates an experience of living amongst his books.

De Vries House
© William Green
De Vries House
© William Green
De Vries House
© William Green

This long, galvalume-clad wedge house is sited on a cliff on Nova Scotia’s south-western Atlantic Coast.

It both fits into and takes possession of the landscape. The plan addresses the human need for prospect and refuge, by contrasting a mute, protective, north service wall facing the woods, with a glazed south wall facing the sea.

De Vries House
© William Green
De Vries House
© William Green

Large ‘bites’ are subtracted from the monolithic form to create a covered entrance and a covered terrace.

The main interior feature is a long, sky-lit slot, which acts as an orientation device to connect the entry, master suite, great room, and generous second floor library. The library contains a giant south facing window that opens over the sea and a bed box for guests.

De Vries House
© William Green
De Vries House
© William Green

One passes through the library’s shelf walls into the master bedroom, further reinforcing the feeling of refuge, after leaving the ‘prospect’ of the library.

The exterior bites are finished in white, channel-joint wood boards. This softens the transition between the silver envelope and the completely white interior, which invites the bold Atlantic Ocean in.

De Vries House
© William Green


De Vries House
© William Green
De Vries House
© William Green
De Vries House
© William Green


De Vries House
Longitudinal Section
De Vries House
Cross Section 2


De Vries House
Ground floor plan
De Vries House
Ground and second floor plans


De Vries House
North Elevation
De Vries House
South Elevation

De Vries House
East Elevation

De Vries House
West Elevation