This Floating Forest Home Reimagines West Coast Modern Architecture in Canada

From certain angles, the house seems to disappear altogether. Reflections of forest ripple across its vast panes of glass, while a dramatic cantilever allows the upper floor to hover above the site with surprising lightness.

Designed by Openspace Architecture and built by Hart Tipton Construction, the contemporary family home occupies a historic site once owned by one of the area's original land barons in the 1920s. Surrounded by towering cedars and Douglas firs, the project reimagines the language of West Coast Modern architecture through a more restrained and minimalist lens, where concrete, glass and timber work together to heighten the experience of the surrounding forest.

Its defining gesture is impossible to ignore. The second floor appears to float above the landscape, dramatically cantilevered with only three slender columns visible beneath it. The effect is both daring and remarkably calm.

"The client had a strong vision and clear material palette, inspired by classic West Coast Modernism but interpreted more contemporarily," explains Eric Pettit, Senior Associate at Openspace Architecture. Traditional post-and-beam construction was replaced with concrete walls and a concealed steel structure, creating a cleaner architectural expression that allows the surrounding landscape to take centre stage.

Framing the Forest

The home's elongated form stretches horizontally across the site, carefully preserving views while maintaining a close relationship with the mature trees that existed long before construction began. Not a single large tree was removed during the process.

By positioning much of the house on a single level and concentrating the upper-floor volume toward the eastern edge of the site, the architects created uninterrupted sightlines towards the ocean and southern sky. The result is a home that feels deeply connected to its setting without dominating it.

Throughout the day, sunlight moves across expansive glazed walls, casting shifting patterns onto polished concrete floors and textured surfaces. Outside, a carefully engineered stream flows beneath a floating bridge and past the main suite, introducing the gentle soundtrack of moving water. The atmosphere is both expansive and contemplative.

Concrete With Character

While concrete often carries associations of austerity, here it feels surprisingly tactile.

Board-formed concrete walls preserve the grain of the timber planks used to create the formwork, resulting in surfaces that echo the texture of the surrounding forest. The craftsmanship required was extraordinary. According to Pettit, the formwork team carefully selected the most visually appealing timber boards for the areas where occupants would interact most closely with the concrete.

The walls were constructed using a double-pour system with integrated thermal breaks, allowing them to function as highly efficient building envelopes while maintaining the appearance of solid monolithic masses.

Rather than feeling industrial, the concrete introduces depth, warmth and permanence.

A Warm Counterpoint

To balance the solidity of the concrete, the architects introduced timber throughout the home with equal precision.

CNC-milled ribbed hemlock ceilings run across the principal living spaces, stained in a rich walnut hue after an extensive testing process involving more than 35 stain samples. Outside, cedar cladding and louvers were custom coloured to mirror the subtle tones found in the bark of neighbouring trees. Upstairs, fumed oak flooring and colour-matched millwork create continuity and warmth. The restrained palette allows texture to become the dominant decorative element.

Living Between Indoors and Out

Floor-to-ceiling glazing and frameless sliding doors dissolve traditional boundaries, transforming the forest into an extension of the interior. The open-plan kitchen, dining and living areas flow directly onto a pool terrace and outdoor entertaining spaces, while a slender bridge connects the main residence to a shared office pavilion.

The primary suite occupies its own private lower level with direct access to the landscape, while the remaining bedrooms are arranged above, ensuring both privacy and flexibility for family life. Clerestory windows further enhance the sense of openness while maintaining carefully considered privacy.

Approximately 70 percent of the main-floor exterior walls are glazed, creating what the architects describe as a pavilion-like experience that remains both sheltered and intimate.

A Forever Home

Conceived as a long-term home for a couple and their two daughters, the residence balances dramatic architecture with everyday practicality. Communal spaces encourage gathering and connection, while quieter zones offer opportunities for retreat and reflection.

Behind the calm exterior lies an extraordinary feat of coordination. Mechanical systems, lighting, plumbing and sprinklers were carefully integrated into exceptionally thin structural assemblies, while light switches and glazing channels were embedded directly into concrete surfaces to preserve the purity of the design.

The result is a home that feels simultaneously ambitious and understated. One that demonstrates how minimalist architecture need not be cold, and how contemporary design can strengthen, rather than compete with, its natural surroundings.

In a forest filled with centuries-old trees, the architecture succeeds by knowing when to step back and let nature take the lead.

Credits:

Architecture: Openspace Architecture  

Images: Ema Peter @emaphotographi

Production: Karine Monié @karinemonie