671 Bowen View Rd., Gambier Island, B.C.<\/p>\n
Asking Price: $2,850,000<\/p>\n
Land Size: 21,300 square feet<\/p>\n
House Size: 2,009 square feet<\/p>\n
Taxes: $4,773.38 (2025)<\/p>\n
Agents: Jamie MacDougall, Elliot Funt, Engel & V\u00f6lkers Vancouver; David Matiru, Stilhavn Real Estate<\/p>\n
The Backstory<\/p>\n
Todd Elyzen and Rose Lam looked at recreational properties across B.C., from the Okanagan to Tofino, but the distance always gave them pause. When they found out a lot on Gambier Island was about to be listed for sale, they went to see it and bought the property before it even hit the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe place felt perfect,\u201d Mr. Elyzen said.<\/p>\n
The lot was initially occupied by a rickety cabin that was roughly 500 square feet large. Mr. Elyzen said the cabin was \u201ca little dodgy,\u201d but still felt a sense of unease in having it demolished. That feeling shaped his approach with architects at Battersby Howat and builders Hart Tipton Construction Inc.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne hundred years from now, I want people to repair this place \u2013 not feel like they should tear it down,\u201d Mr. Elyzen said.<\/p>\n
Neither the architect nor the builder had worked on Gambier Island before, and getting materials to the island was a challenge. The island didn\u2019t have a boat ramp, so trucks rolled off barges, crossed a rocky beach and navigated an old logging road to reach the property.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only time to do that was at midnight, when the tide was right,\u201d Mr. Elyzen said.<\/p>\n
He and the crew waited in the dark for the barge to arrive, unloaded the materials and got the trucks back before the tide retreated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an extreme labour of love,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The House Today<\/p>\n
Mr. Elyzen and Ms. Lam\u2019s vision was brought to life by the architects, who designed the house around a central courtyard to draw light deep into the property, and the builders. <\/p>\n
The house sits above Howe Sound, its foundation drilled into bedrock. To build it, the team stripped back the thin soil cover to expose the rock beneath, then scribed the concrete directly to its surface so that, in places, the house appears to grow straight out of the bedrock.<\/p>\n
\u201cClose to half of the house is exposed in that way,\u201d Mr. Elyzen said.<\/p>\n
The structure extends from the foundation to keep the building\u2019s footprint small, leaving room for ferns and native plants to grow underneath. Outside, dark-stained vertical cedar cladding ties the walls to tree trunks that press in around the house on three sides.<\/p>\n
Inside, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom layout drops across three levels: Dining, kitchen, then living room \u2013 finished with Douglas fir floors and hemlock ceiling panels. Large sliding doors at the living room level open the south face of the house to the water beyond. From the primary bedroom at the rear, sightlines travel the full length of the house and out to the sea.<\/p>\n
The roof carries solar panels that power the house from March to October, feeding a battery storage system. A backup generator handles power in the winter months.<\/p>\n
Mr. Elyzen said very little had changed in nearly 20 years. From the built-in cabinetry and furniture to the flow between rooms, the house remains close to what Battersby Howat first drew up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was just so considered that very little needed to change,\u201d Mr. Elyzen said.<\/p>\n