Case Study
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At first glance, neither the site nor the structure that our clients purchased in Calgary seemed to hold a great deal of potential. There was little topographical interest, the main entrance to the home was through a back alley and the property was exposed to a major, high-traffic road.
We knew from the outset that, in order to design an ideal home for our clients, both the site and the home would need to be designed and built. Reimagining both at once allowed us to create a cohesive vision with an undeniable throughline and imbue a reciprocity that can be felt throughout the project.
The home unfolds as a series of interconnected structures, giving it the intimate feel of a private compound nestled into an urban setting.
To shield the residence from the busy street while creating a more graceful arrival experience, we positioned a guest pavilion at the property’s edge. This thoughtful placement allows for a concealed garage entrance through an interior courtyard, offering both privacy and sophistication in the approach to the main house.
Some of the project’s most compelling features emerged from embracing the site’s challenges. The excavation process inspired architectural opportunities: a kitchen that seemingly floats above the sculpted terrain, and perhaps most remarkably, a subterranean wine cellar that appears to have been there for centuries. This latter space was deliberately left unfinished, allowing the concrete to interact with the earth—creating the precise temperature and humidity conditions that mirror the European caves where many great wines mature.
Like a masterfully crafted fictional universe, it creates a world that feels at once surprising and inevitable.
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