Vista House

Vista House sits high on the mountain where a quiet neighbourhood meets the edge of forest. From the street, it presents as a modest bungalow, concealing its true scale in deference to both the slope and city requirements. This restraint gives way to a striking reveal once inside, where the plan opens toward expansive southern views.

Arrival is shaped by compression. A curving driveway descends to the entry beneath an extended cedar soffit, heightening the sense of shelter before release. The glazed entry is screened with slender slats that filter light and provide privacy, casting subtle patterns of shadow across the threshold. A concrete wall carries from exterior to interior, grounding the house structurally while defining the spatial sequence.

Beyond this threshold, the trapezoidal site widens toward the view, allowing the interior to expand linearly along the slope. Living spaces are oriented to a continuous panorama of Stanley Park and Burrard Inlet, reinforced by a balcony that projects over the grade and dissolves the boundary between indoors and out. The effect is less about framed moments than about inhabiting a sweeping horizon.

Material continuity binds the experience. The cedar ceiling extends past the glazing to form the exterior soffit, drawing the eye outward, while concrete anchors the house back into the terrain. Together, these gestures intensify the sense of expansion and root the home to its mountain site.

Photography - Andrew Latreille
Video - Yan Tymoshenko