Vancouver-based architecture practice Splyce Design has designed a single-family home choreographed by a colonnade-lined entrance in Victoria, Canada.

Named Shoreline House, the house is a meticulous extension and restoration that strikes a balance between modern style and environmental awareness.

The property is characterized by rocky outcrops, large fir and oak trees, and expansive 180-degree views of the inlet. It is situated at the end of a suburban street where single-family homes give way to a rocky shoreline.

New construction versus renovation

After buying the 1960s house, the clients came to Splyce with a plan for a new dwelling. 

The studio suggested keeping and remodeling the current building while constructing a small, one-story addition because of the site's close proximity to the water and its delicate ecology. This option had the least ecological impact.

Environmental considerations

The addition, which contains the main bedroom and bathroom, has an oddly shaped building envelope due to strict shoreline setbacks. 

In order to prevent over-excavation in the maritime protected region, the new volume's design has sunken concrete foundation walls and a minimum footprint. With its top rising 13 feet above a cantilevered screen wall that reaches a dramatic point, the building seems to float.

Choreographed approach

A stairway lined with colonnades that leads to the front entrance coordinates the approach to the house. The original house's shed-roof shapes, where dark finishes reflect the granite shoreline, contrast with the addition's light-stained wood siding. 

The design investigates the locations where the old and the new, the wild and the cultivated, the interior and the outside, converge.

Landscape matters

Patios and walkways blend in perfectly with the natural topography and vegetation in the area. 

Large windows that capture changing light and water reflections, some with hidden frames to blur the line between inside and outside, and others strategically positioned to frame certain views, give the interiors life throughout the day.

The ability of Splyce Design to produce modern architecture that is grounded in location, sensitive to environmental context, and enhanced by the interaction between building and landscape is demonstrated by Shoreline House.

Floor plan

Splyce Design, a contemporary design studio founded in 2001 by Nigel Parish, specializes in projects ranging from custom furniture and landscapes to new residences and restorations. 

The studio is small, hands-on, and collaborates directly with customers to design smart, elegant, and long-lasting living spaces.

Project facts

Project name: Shoreline House

Location: Victoria, British Columbia

Completion: 2024

Size: 3000sf

Design team: Nigel Parish, Tomas Machnikowski, Galo Oyarce

Builder: Mdrn Built

Structural Engineer: Aspect Structural Engineers

Landscape: Andrew van Egmond

All images © Ema Peter.

All drawings © Splyce Design.

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