Winnipeg-based architecture practice 5468796 Architecture has wrapped the façade of a family house with a weathered steel veil to resist excessive snowfalls in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Named Veil House, the dark brown facade of the house looks like a camouflage element and hides the house from the outside. 

This weathered spiral, which loops and behaves three-dimensionally in places, is completely closed in some places, while in others it opens with an intermittent pattern.

"The project was built to allow a family to age-in-place and enjoy a high degree of both airiness and privacy, balancing open outdoor spaces with articulated interior enclosures," said 5468796 Architecture. 

Located in Winnipeg, where early 20th century suburban sprawl has shaped much of the city’s architectural identity, infill projects in mature neighbourhoods are important sites to challenge the status-quo.

Arranged on a loose nine-square grid, the house is organized around a central courtyard. 

Featuring a series of free-flowing open living spaces, such as living, family, dining, kitchen, circulation - framed by solid utility blocks, such as washroom, laundry, fireplace, storage, appliances. "This interplay eliminates the need for walls and doors," said the studio.

The house is conceived as a unique configuration that allows all living spaces "to be spatially defined, while also being visually and acoustically connected." 

The interiors feature double-height spaces, each with their own distinct character – sloped ceilings in kitchen and family room. According to the studio, an infinite ceiling in dining room, double-volumed living room, and courtyard with open volume blur the grid in sections and create a private primary bedroom on the upper floor.

"The house is situated at grade — rare for a city that receives large amounts of snowfall, and even more rare for houses with basements — and an interior ramp enables universal access across two floors," said the studio. 

"As it ascends from the main level, the ramp follows the north wall."

The otherwise difficult space below is used to bring natural light into the basement, while also providing emergency egress from the bedrooms. 

Firmly planting the main floor at grade results in a seamless extension of the interior spaces to the courtyard and surrounding yard.

The key features of the house are the blocks and ramp that are blanketed by a weathered steel "veil". Propped up by the utility blocks, the veil follows the ramp, starting at ground level, spiralling up and peeling off of the wall to enclose the private patio on top of the garage, dappling light on the west and south sides of the house. 

The veil continues, covering the entrances and ‘re-attaching’ back to the house to complete the spiral. 

Strategically perforated over windows and balconies, the veil creates a sense of wonder and curiosity from the street, while elegantly filtering daylight into the interiors and allowing exterior views without compromising privacy.

The veil delicately floats in space, tack-welded to the knife edge of cantilevered steel supports, gentling peeling away from the house to create interstitial spaces on both floors. The industrial aesthetic is rooted in the manufacturing economy of the city.

Weathering steel forms a velvet-like patina, a material warmth often reserved for wood, while also giving the house a restrained presence. 

Its longevity is assured by Winnipeg’s dry and often sunny climate. While the material is foreign to the neighbourhood, the geometry is familiar, reflecting the deep and tall hip roofs of its neo-Gothic and neo-Georgian neighbours.

Veil House functions as both architecture and sculpture, drawing connections between architecture and industry, structure and decoration, retreat, and expression.

Floor plans

Sections

Axonometric drawing

Axonometric and plan diagrams 

Project facts

Project name: Veil House

Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Client: withheld

Architects: 5468796 Architecture 

Project team: partner-in-charge - Sasa Radulovic; project architect - Ken Borton

Interior Designer: XYZ Studio Inc., Linda Levit

Engineers: Structural - Laverge Draward & Associates: Civil & Surveyor - Barnes & Duncan Surveying Geomatics & Engineering: Geotechnical - Eng-Tech Consulting

Landscape Consultant: Butterfield Landscaping & Maintenance

Project Completion: August 2022

All images © James Brittain.

All drawings © 5468796 Architecture.

> via 5468796 Architecture 

5468796 Architecture family house house residential weathered steel