All images © Patkau Architects
Located on a Northwest slope overlooking British Columbia’s Whistler Valley, this country house in Canada has been designed to shed snow from its roof into storage areas within the site. Completed by Patkau Architects, the external form of ‘Hadaway House’ is also a direct response to the allowable building footprint and height limitations.
Internally, the main level is essentially one one large space with living, dining and kitchen areas with an outdoor deck that opens up to the valley view below. A vertical crevice of space runs under the highest roof ridge, bisecting the warped volume and bringing light to the deepest part of the section and plan. Stairs rise within this rift and a bridge connects the master bedroom suite and the adjacent study. At the lowermost level more intimate spaces house guest bedrooms and a second living area, as well as a large service area where skiers can store necessary equipment.
The slabs and walls which enclose the lower floor are concrete construction, while the uppermost storeys are a composite steel and heavy timber structure with woodframe infill. The entire structure is sheathed with a monolithic screen of open-spaced 2 x 6 cedar boards over conventional roof and wall assemblies. The thermal mass of the lower concrete structure dampens temperature swings during summer and winter. In warmer months the interior is naturally cooled and ventilated by drawing air from the lower level on the north side of the house to vent at the top of the central rift.
