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2014 / Fabric Cast Concrete, Glass, Earth

An existing 100 year old classic Vancouver housing typology consisting of four small apartments above a neighborhood store is renovated into one large family home above a small wine bar. The project consists of introducing a number of fabric cast concrete lily pad elements into the old heavy timber structure, which also serve as planters for trees. Each fabric cast element becomes either a courtyard or patio, referencing the iconography of a “hanging garden”. The floor levels shift and slide, creating unexpected sight lines and surreal relationships between indoor and outdoor spaces. The hanging garden elements introduce sunlight and air deep into the interior, calibrated to wash over their formally expressive fabric cast undersides. The fabric cast elements also serve as seismic reinforcing for the building.

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Photography by Gwenael Lewis