The undertaking didn’t start with drawings or dimensions. It started with a rock. Behind a house in Victoria, Canada, a large bedrock outcrop formed how rain sounded, how kids performed, and the way the household skilled their yard.
When the couple approached Greenway Studio Structure a few sunroom and residential workplace, the dialog stayed mounted on that rock. Avoiding it was unattainable. Eradicating it was unthinkable. The one possibility was to construct in a manner that belonged to it. That call set the tone for every little thing that adopted.
From the primary sketches, the addition was conceived as one thing that will grow to be a part of the outcrop itself. Architect and shoppers drew collectively, testing concepts that handled the rock as collaborator quite than impediment. Because the idea developed, the undertaking earned its title. The Grotto.
An area formed by enclosure, mass, and the sensation of being held by stone. The thought was to not place a construction beside the rock, however to let the rock outline the construction.
The architectural course of started with subtraction. Unfastened sections of stone round the principle fold of the outcrop have been fastidiously eliminated to create a foothold the place the constructing may mesh into the panorama. Stone taken from the location was reshaped right into a curving wall that rises instantly from the fold of the rock.
This wall embraces the work from home space and visually anchors the addition to its setting. Its mass helps and roots a flowing wooden submit and beam roof construction, tying structure and panorama collectively.
Above, the roof hosts an ecosystem quite than a traditional floor. Native crops have been collected by the couple, their kids, and neighbours, then planted alongside domestically sourced supplies. Heavier sedum mats have been put in as a part of the system, permitting the household to finish the planting themselves.
The roof displays a stability between skilled development and fingers on participation, an method the architects have since adopted on different tasks.
Timbers for the submit and beam construction have been sourced from the Island, reinforcing the native materials palette, whereas passive photo voltaic overhangs have been designed to manage temperature, preserving the house cool in summer time and heat in winter.
Excessive insulation values all through the roof, flooring, and partitions, together with triple glazing, guarantee consolation throughout seasons. Seamless glass particulars intersect cleanly with the stone wall, permitting uninterrupted views into the encircling panorama whereas assembly the thermal calls for of coastal British Columbia.
Rain performs an energetic position within the expertise of the house. Water operating off the roof splashes onto the rock at a exact level, amplifying the sounds the household had liked lengthy earlier than the addition existed. Later, the thought emerged to gather and recycle this water again onto the roof. This permits the sound of falling water to proceed even throughout drier summer time months.
Inside, the stone wall turns into a backdrop for day by day life and work. Mirrored daylight warms faces throughout digital conferences, whereas the textured floor offers visible calm. Reclaimed wooden flooring from a demolished warehouse provides historical past and materials depth beneathfoot. First Nations and African art work, together with objects made by the kids, inhabit the house with out overwhelming it.
Bespoke lantern sconces cling from the stone wall, made by the lead carpenter utilizing leftover wooden casing and some fast sketches. The varieties are easy, crafted with freedom quite than specification, permitting the maker’s hand to stay seen within the last end result. At night time, they soften the mass of the stone and convey heat to the work and household areas with out competing with the structure.
Banquette seating anchors the room because it strikes via the day. Throughout working hours, the house helps digital conferences and centered duties. By night, every little thing tucks away into discreet storage, making room for household video games and shared meals across the desk. The structure permits the room to really feel energetic with out changing into cluttered.
Immediately, the Grotto Home extends past non-public use. It hosts workshops for college kids finding out inexperienced roofs and infrequently opens to the group for occasions. What started as a dialog a few rock grew to become an instance of how structure can reply with restraint.
Images by Tony Colangelo and Greenway Studio Structure | Architect: Greenway Studio Structure | Builder: Taylor McCarthy – Frontera Properties | Structural Engineer: Jonathan Reiter – Skyline Engineering
