Tricky
lot - perfect project for Plum Design. This pie shaped lot has a south facing
30 ft frontage on a hillside cul-de-sac, with 12ft of cliff top at road side
and the rest of the lot 25ft below. The young owners gambled on Plum's inventiveness
to design a house to fit the lot. The wedge shape is the direct outcome of
the lot shape.
Main
features:
The
wedge shape, with triangular side extrusions, plus the sun room twisted to
45 degrees allowing the stair landing windows to have fabulous views, give
this house a contemporary yet timeless aspect. The open 1st floor plan, plus
the sun room and roof deck, provide living spaces that are stimulating.
The
front of the house is anchored to the rock at street level - rebar set in
drilled holes in the rock and secured with concrete front foundation wall
and car parking pad. The rest of the house is supported on five 25 ft high
metal posts and beams set on large concrete pads.
Walk
through description:
One
enters along a 4ft cantilevered walkway to the front door which is recessed
beneath a wedge shaped protrusion above to provide cover from rain. A matching
recess/protrusion on the other side of the building provides deck space off
the kitchen for outdoor barbecuing or coffee in the morning sun.
The
living space is 14ft wide and 30ft across the back of the wedge. Traffic flow
is on the left from kitchen and front door to stairs and triangulated closet.
The stair landing rests on a 2 inch square metal post which forms part of
the metal stair rail and continues up to support the second stair landing
above. The living room floor is open under the stairs to two 3ft square windows
under the landing providing visual expansiveness to the living room - plus
a cliff top view from these and the landing windows above.
There's
a half wall separating the kitchen from the living room, but one looks right
across the kitchen to the dining room and eating bar - 44ft from the stair
landing to the front of the dining room. To compensate for minimal overhead
kitchen cupboards there's an 8ft high and 12ft wide closet on the wall backing
onto the entrance deck.
At
the top of the first flight of stairs is a computer desk while at the opposite
side of the landing is a laundry space - with washer and drier under a counter
top near the 4ft linen closet. The open stairwell makes the laundry area feel
spacious.
Across
from bedroom #2 is the guest bathroom and toilet. In the passage leading from
the main bedroom is a sky light plus 8ft of shelving or closet.
Up
the second flight of stairs is the 'sun room' on the third floor, which opens
onto the roof deck - or roof garden since access to the lot at the bottom
of the cliff is awkward. There's a fan on the ceiling above the stairwell
and one can look over the rail to the living room floor two stories below.
A counter sink in this sun room serves as a bar sink or cleanup spot. There
is an outside tap for a hose to water tubs of plants on the roof deck as well
as external electrical outlets.
The
trellis attached to the exterior of the sun room extends over the sides of
the roof deck parapet to provide balance and visual interest when viewed from
the street. The house is clad in vertical metal siding - one colour for the
main wedge and a second contrasting colour on the stairwell and side wedge
extrusions.
Why
is this house affordable?
The
construction is pretty simple once one figures the angles. The 1st floor is
only 765 sq.ft., the 2nd floor 845 sq.ft., and the sun room 256 sq.ft. - giving
a total inside space of only 1866 sq.ft. The roof deck is 539 sq.ft., giving
ample room for roof top parties and space to grow vegetation in planters.
Any
questions? Don't hesitate to email Plum Design and ask. Suggestions are welcomed
too.