In Chester, a coastal town on the south coast of Nova Scotia, this 1,350-square-foot house was built for a woman who lives in Seattle and intends to return home to Canada. The site is tucked away in a private location, down from the main road, on the edge of the town boundary. While the space feels secluded, it is located within walking distance of downtown Chester, making necessary amenities and nearby trails accessible.
This house is the pinnacle of minimalist and modest design. A house within a house The ground floor has two rooms and a staircase made from folded origami-like, perforated steel plates. This will take you to the upper floor, which has only one main room. The living room and dining room form a central open space, with secondary spaces that create a thick perimeter around it: a kitchen, a bathroom, a covered balcony, and a window to Bay. The fireplace became the central gathering place. This space invites well-being and refuge, creating a sense of security as it is surrounded by thick protective walls inspired by Irish Tower Houses. These smaller elements help mediate between the central room and the outside world.
The space in the upper room is available for viewing opportunities. Surrounded by glass, the upper floor allows the light to reveal itself from the shadows and offers a panoramic view of the forest. Small perforated windows create vignettes of intimate landscape elements. The dwelling immerses its occupants in a relationship with nature, the sounds of the flowing stream, and the dappled effect of sunlight through the canopy cover. The upper deck is a weathered steel casing that appears to slide over its wooden base.
The minimally detailed eaves, corners, and openings line and heighten the simplicity of the architecture. A glass entrance becomes an inverted balcony. A high view of the fort from the treetops
The wooden base of the ground floor creates an inversion, turning the house upside down. Challenging ideas of traditional living, the lower floor is where the bedrooms are located. Shelter and privacy are created in a protected and quieter environment, which provides protection for the user. The wooden base creates a stable and safe place that invites calm and meditation. With the interior sparsely furnished, the client enjoyed watching the light and shadows move across the monochrome surfaces.
This two-and-a-half-story house is a practical prototype of modest living. Culturally and economically appropriate to its surroundings, the site transcends the local culture, blending into the landscape. The purpose of the project process is to plan and build a house with minimal form, cost, and material. In contrast to the excesses of our current consumer society, economic ethics are superimposed on the form and materiality of this home.
