Strait to Nature House is a West Coast Modern inspired design set into the side of a North Vancouver hillside, sloping down to a pond and creek.  To quote Frank Lloyd Wright:

“No house should ever be on a hill, or on anything.  It should be of the hill. Belonging to it.  Hill and house should live together, each the happier for the other. “

Strait to Nature House’s name is inspired by the pinch point in the plan and architecture where front entrance aligns with the rear courtyard.  This pinching of the plan creates a visual ‘strait’ between architectural volumes where nature slides through the house from front to back.  As us West Coasters are aware, a strait is a narrowing channel between two land masses, not unlike the circulation within the home between the two courtyards. This area bridges the wild West Coast nature from the front entry courtyard, through a narrowing of the floor plate to the rear courtyard, which then extends into the forested backyard. The landscape flows from the courtyard, like a channel, and reconnects with the sloped North Vancouver site where it cascades down to the creek. It is a home inspired by biophilia, and there is a constant connection with the wild outdoors.