75.9

2015 / Wood, Fabric Formed Concrete, Mirrored Glass, Glass

75.9 is a house constructed on a hay farm in the Canadian Pacific Northwest.

The project makes use of a technique of pouring concrete into fabric formwork deployed within plywood rib structures, yielding walls and columnar roof forms. A deliberately slow, continuous pour and special concrete mix are employed to fabricate each element, in some cases approaching 10 meters tall.  The intention is for the concrete to continuously cure throughout the duration of the pour, thus reducing hydro-static pressure at the stem and avoiding horizontal cold joints. Micro perforations in the weave of the fabric release air from the surface of the concrete as it cures, making it easy to remove and creating a richly textured woven finish. The technique acknowledges the material’s plastic nature and prescribes its own unique geometry

WAF Winner – Future Projects: House

The fabric formed concrete elements are treated as if they were found archeological ruins in the hay field landscape, with the house considered a contemporary construction built around and among them. Differing height and position for each column creates a cinematographic narrative of domestic habitation. The trumpet shape of each column is hollow, allowing planting of mature trees on the inhabited roofscape.

A low-ceilinged zone, rendered in wood, wraps the perimeter of the concrete column elements, offering relief from monumentality and emphasizing the horizontal expanse of the hay field beyond. This compressed zone offers a material contrast to the concrete vaulted spaces and operates as a circulation conduit.

The hay field is treated as if it were a carpet, draped over the volumes of the residence in a series of berms, allowing the entire building roof to be traversed from the exterior and contributing to the archeological reading.

Date: 2017 - 2023
Gross floor area: 8000 ft2 | 740 m2
Client: Joe and Keira Haley
Designer: Omer Arbel Office
Contractor: Chris Wright of Build Wright Construction with Joe Haley and consulting by Brad Martin of Treeline Construction
Architect of record: Bruce Gernon Architect
Structural: Thomas Duke and Nick de Ridder of Fast + Epp Structural Engineers
Geotechnical: Matt Kokan of Geopacific Consultants
Building Envelope: JRS Engineering

Project Leader: Mark Dennis
Project Team: Omer Arbel, Mark Dennis, Kathryn Lamoureux, Jaedan Leimert, Graeme Smith, Tyler Wied
Model Team: Brooklyn Bombardier, Christa Clay, Kevin Isherwood, Jaedan Leimert, Kevin Li, Jeremy Schipper