The G’Day House

The G’Day House is a commission for an Australian ex-expatriate family, who requested a home that would support a relaxed attitude toward daily life and would help them re-connect with a warm-weather lifestyle. Located in West Vancouver, Canada this home designed by Mcleod Bovell could be right at home in Australia.
Column-free sliding doors at the Southeast corner of the house effectively double the size of the living area when open; indoor and outdoor spaces hold equal priority.
Materials, form, and space are intended to evoke the feel of a beach house: simple, casual and flexible. The dining table and wood-burning fireplace can both be rotated to support a variety of arrangements depending on weather and number of guests.
Avid hosts, the clients felt that the kitchen should anchor the primary living spaces at the upper floor combining the dining room and kitchen into a single long space which allowed for a narrow floor plan resulting in a generous side-yard area, used for outdoor cooking.
A reflecting pond and fence at the scale of house connect this space with an open terrace and an enclosed garden creating privacy to the street. This sequence of outdoor spaces from the front yard to terrace encourages the direct exterior arrival of guests to the kitchen.