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ON A PARCEL OF LAND hem-med in by the glories of nature on one side and the diesel rush of the Sea-to-Sky Highway on the other, architect and designer Fook Weng Chan delivers a vacation home that ingeniously displays the former while handily hiding the latter.
Q+A
with architect and designer Fook Weng Chan
WL How did you create a transition from the highway to the home in such a short distance?
Fook Weng Chan I tried to slow down people’s emotions as they approach the house. As you drive up to it, there’s a series of stone walls at different heights in the front yard, so you’re forced to meander. Then you land on a walkway made of concrete and basalt that hovers above the ground, leads up to the largest stone wall (the exterior of the house), and brings you through a wood-and-glass gateway. But you aren’t inside yet. You’re in a shallow exterior courtyard-another process of slowing down. To your right is a reflecting pool with stepping stones and basalt columns. Only then do you see the front door of the house, a solid wood door with little slats of glass so you can peek through.
WL Since the house is right on the beach you had glacier-fed Green Lake as a focal point. How did you maximize its potential?
FWC The view is definitely the most attractive feature of the site. A timber frame allowed larger windows that made views of Whistler and Blackcomb and the lake apparent from every room.
WL What kind of life were the homeowners hoping to have here?
FWC They’ve been Vancouver residents since the 1960s, a couple that used to come up here and ski out of their motor home. They were hitting retirement age but were very active-still skiing and even doing the zip line up there. This was a couple that had travelled on every continent, and now they wanted a place where they could enjoy life with their kids and grandkids. I put the master suite on the upper floor and the kids’ suites below-to attract kids you have to offer them some independence. We also did one room for bunkbeds so grandkids can all sleep together as a bonding experience.
WL There’s a kind of great hall on the main floor, where kitchen, dining room and living room all flow together under massive windows and a timber frame. Were you imagining après-ski moments?
FWC Actually, I think a successful retreat needs to cater to a variety of scenarios. There’s always going to be après-ski gatherings, but you also need to cater to moments when a person wants to cocoon. We designed nooks that branch off the central room.
WL How does the skiing lifestyle fit into the design?
fwc All the main circulation corridors were done in stone so they could be mopped up; nobody’s damaging the wood floors in the rest of the house. And in eight closets around the house I designed huge drawers for ski mitts and wet things-there’s a wire mesh bottom and hot air circulating through them.
WL How does the place look from out on the lake?
FWC We brought the house as close to the lake’s edge as we could. There are three levels of concrete planters that terrace down to the shore from the home, a kind of stand for the house itself. And when lit at night, because there’s so much glass, it looks like a large glowing lantern.
WL What advice would you give people who are looking to build their own chalets?
FWC What’s paramount is to find someone who knows how to respond to the site, the landscape. Because that’s what you’re there for. Also, it’s sensible to have large common areas and small sleeping quarters-smaller than in a primary residence. This fosters shared group time.
WL What is the biggest mistake people make with these?
FWC Often in Whistler I think the timber is overwhelming. What we did for this home is allow the wooden structure to maximize the amount of glass we could have. In other homes, the timber becomes the dominant force as opposed to the surroundings. And, always, people just need to be sure of their own priorities. wl
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