Many architectural marvels have been bulldozed, but these three beauties can all still be spotted in West Vancouver or North van
Two West Coast Modern houses are on the market in West Vancouver at quite different price points.
One is the BC Binning House with an asking price of $5.25 million. The other is the 1958 Bob Lewis-designed Erickson House, built for Arthur Erickson’s brother Don. The four-bedroom house is near the Gleneagles Golf Course and has an asking price of just under $2 million.
When BC Binning’s house was built in 1941, it cost $5,000. Realtor Jesse Saniuk bought the two-bedroom house in 2015 and had it completely restored, right down to Binning’s own murals. Part of the hefty price tag is because the house is credited with launching the West Coast Modernism movement and directly influencing architectural icons such as Arthur Erickson.
Trent Rodney, co-founder of West Coast Modern, says one of the misconceptions of the West Coast Modern movement is that it’s frozen in the 1940s to 1960s. That’s not true, he says. While architects such as Arthur Erickson, Ron Thom, Fred Hollingsworth and Barry Downs defined the movement, firms such as McLeod Bovell are basing their new builds on the same principles.
Historically, these houses sat on large lots, and until several years ago, were seen as bulldozer bait. Rodney (who does not represent either the BC Binning or the Erickson house) says about 60 per cent of the mid-century modern stock has been demolished. Rodney says none of his sales has so far resulted in a demolition, as buyers view the houses more as works of art rather than as assets.
He estimates there are around 1,700 West Coast Modern homes still standing across Metro Vancouver.
“That number comes from years of physically driving every neighbourhood, scouting and cataloguing these homes ourselves. We suspect there are still a few hundred more out there we haven’t found yet,” he says. “In terms of demand, Arthur Erickson sits well above everyone else. His name itself carries real weight at the negotiating table. Buyers understand they’re not just buying square footage, they’re buying a credited piece of architectural history, and that recognition translates directly into what they’re willing to pay. It’s not unlike paying for a view, except here the premium is for pedigree.”
Three of my North Shore favourites still around are:
Daylight spills into the living room of this West Vancouver house designed by Barry Downs. | The White Space Co.
1. Architect Barry Downs’ house sits on a cliff top above West Vancouver’s Garrow Bay. He bought the land in 1979 and lived there until his death in 2022. Downs trained at Thompson, Berwick and Pratt and worked with some of the city’s most exciting and imaginative architects, including a partnership with North Vancouver architect Fred Hollingsworth. When I interviewed Downs at his house in 2014, he told me: “We built on narrow lots with simple and affordable post and beam houses. We designed houses that pushed up through the trees, that revolved around the idea of the big room, surrounded by the garden, and the view of the changing seasons.”
Fred Hollingsworth built the Sky Bungalow in 1949 in the parking lot of Hudson’s Bay in Vancouver. It was later moved to North Vancouver. | Eve Lazarus
2. Hollingsworth invented the Neoteric style: family housing with a small footprint, open plan and simple post-and-beam construction. He designed the Sky Bungalow in 1949. Developer Eric Allan came up with the idea of building a house in the Hudson Bay’s parking lot to promote the new Capilano Highlands subdivision. The Bay agreed, but only if the house took up no more than three parking spots. No problem, said Hollingsworth. He perched the wooden house on beams and floated it over the cars. The house sold and moved to its current address on Aintree Drive, just blocks away from the house that Hollingsworth designed for his own family in 1946 and where he lived until his death in 2015.
Architect Paul Merrick built this house for his family, making sure to preserve all the trees on their West Vancouver property. | District of West Vancouver
3. Architect Paul Merrick, who is behind such projects as the renovation of the BC Electric building to the Electra, designed a West Coast Modern house for his family in 1974. His goal was to create an interesting house on a modest budget and do it without taking out one of the 36 douglas fir, cedar, hemlock and maple trees on the sloping West Vancouver lot. When you’re inside this house, it feels like you’re living in a tree canopy.
Eve Lazarus is a North Vancouver resident and author. Her latest book is Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck. [email protected]