Seven million people call Taipei home. Two of those people, Mike and Beverley Ayre, decided they'd had enough of 100-storey towers and shoulder-crunching sidewalk scenes. One day in 2008 they packed up and escaped to a seaside village in British Columbia: Ucluelet—population 1,600. Mike grew up in Vancouver and Beverley in South Africa's Cape Town, so they both knew the joys of an unspoiled waterfront. "We wanted to look out our windows and take in an environment without any obstructions," says Mike. "Just natural shoreline for long walks with our three dogs."

Luxury home surrounded by nature
The Ayres secured a private stretch of ragged, rocky coast (this is no manicured beach) where bears and deer are regular visitors. Instead of a maddening crush of fellow humans, they now have daily sightings of eagles, otters and kingfishers. In the distance, whales cruise by. The nearest houses are cloaked by trees.

The happy task for Bo Helliwell and Kim Smith of Blue Sky Architecture was to imagine a generous and secluded home that the couple could retire in—one fully incorporated into the surrounding wilds. The 3,500-square-foot residence includes plenty of exposed timberwork, for starters; its fir frame is built of massive local logs. (A two-foot-wide post stands sentry in the living room and echoes the tree trunks outside.) Meanwhile, windows framed with charcoal vinyl and siding of clear cedar keep things tight against stormy weather. But a broad expanse of front-facing windows—which slide away when you step out onto one of three decks—keeps the home open to a southern view of the cove.

Inside, Mike's collection of early-20th-century wind-up toys (inherited from his father) was going to have pride of place in a men's room—the sort of place he could smoke cigars. Like so many man-caves, though, this one was axed in favour of West Coast modernism's open floor plans. Today, the sanctuary is divided from the rest of a massive common area by a cantilevered concrete wood-burning hearth. An ovoid seat around the fire encourages warm conversation—and that organic shape is mirrored in the display case, where the antique toys are on display.

Designing with curves
Ovals are everywhere. The Ayres requested organic shapes, and the Blue Sky team delivered curves in the kitchen counters, bathroom vanities and gently arcing ceiling—the entire building curves, in fact, to follow the bend of the shoreline and maximize views.

Even the driveway is winding. If you trek all the way to Ucluelet, you have time to spare; you aren't just coming for the afternoon. You amble up the path to a wall of black slate (matching the basalt rock in the landscape); you hear the trickle of a fountain (running next to a cleverly screened shower); you wonder which of the two guest suites will be yours on this stay. And, after a quick kayak ride in the cove, the Ayres might share the one amenity this home borrowed from crowded Taiwan—a compact outdoor plunge pool.