Having built and developed over 5,000 homes in the neighbourhood, we’re familiar with the proliferation of West Coast Modern wood frame buildings. And with the additional density planned in the Oakdale neighbourhood, it was important for us to consider a new design language.

How have we created something exceptional at Söenhaus?

We explored the ethos of living in a temperate rainforest through materiality and light. And we landed on an organic architecture, a new sense of what constitutes West Coast Modernism. The architectural concept draws inspiration from nordic design and the principles of simplicity, functionality and the expression of quality materials. The process we followed embodies our deeply held belief that we can employ design to create buildings that can achieve high environmental performance, low energy consumption, and comfort for our residents.

An important consideration was the response to the sloping grades on the site and to the two aspects of the site: one on Como Lake Road and the other on Grover. The massing follows the natural topography of the slope and manipulates the form through framing and balcony projections to create visual interest.

From the street, the building has two masses, each a story different. To help express its dimensions, the two masses are accentuated with super frames that add to the building’s significance along the busy street. The frames themselves are differentiated: one is darker, the other lighter, and the bodies of the building within those frames differ: a lighter material within the darker frame and a darker material within the lighter frame.

Within each frame the balconies are treated differently, with different sizes and materials to add additional texture. Punched windows feature accented frames, differentiating those facades from the northern ones. and further along the east and west facades, new super frames are introduced with contrasting light or dark colouring, cantilevered balconies and accented window frames.

These elements cleverly present a more nuanced design language, inviting interpretation. Overall, the architectural design has proved to be incredibly efficient in resolving all of our goals — adapting to our location, offering a distinct experience, and most importantly an architecture with a longer shelf life.

There is a correlation between forward thinking and future value. The highest value attaches to best-in-class properties. We believe that the evolved design and extremely high quality of execution at Söenhaus will outperform the aging west coast modern homes in the West Coquitlam market.