430 House by D’Arcy Jones Architecture in Vancouver,Canada
“Architecture should bring grace to the everyday, making it art.”, believes the Vancouver-based architect, D’Arcy Jones. He creates his own kind of art by conceptualizing with an eye on the past and one on the future, with a sensibility for tradition and a taste for contemporary.
D’Arcy Jones’ creativity along with his fresh, optimistic approach in design won him the Canada Council’s Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement, in 2014. In an interview for canadacouncil.ca, he states that “ideal proportions and atypical details” are governing its designs. D’Arcy Jones draws inspiration from “pre-modern architecture” for a touch of “depth and humanity” that moves the individual.
430 House, based in Vancouver, Canada, rises up to the architect’s name. D’Arcy Jones Architecture had a modern take on a 90’s house, completely flipping around its interior. If you want to learn more about the 430 House renovation, check out the facts below.
1. 430 House
“The history of architecture is the story of humans enclosing space with floors, walls and roofs. Our project’s innovations come from playing with the composition of these three simple elements”, stated D’Arcy Jones in the same interview for canadacouncil.ca.
2. Transition
Drawing inspiration from the earliest forms of architecture, D’Arcy Jones strongly separated the house’s private space from the public space with a gate. Perhaps, Japanese culture also influenced the intervention. Traditionally, a Japanese torri gate was used to mark transition between the sacred place of a temple, and the outside profane space.
3. Contradiction
430 House appears to be upside down, as the lightness of the first floor holds up the weight of the second. There is an appealing contradiction in the two floor’s designs. The first openness towards the outside space, while the second one closes. This effect is also manipulated through the medium of color.
4. Transformation
According to D’Arcy Jones, ““The house was wrapped in a new exterior skin with carefully placed windows, to connect all interior spaces to the front and back yards. This house that was once dark and generic is now filled with light and air.”
5. Composition
This facade is a balanced composition of rectangles and squares. Its geometry is continued by the concrete path. D’Arcy Jones used subtraction to mark the entrance. He also chose to emphasize it through contrast, by introducing a material with another texture and color.
6. Flipped over
During the renovation, the interior layout was completely flipped over. The architect moved the “kitchen, dining and living areas from the upper floor down to the main floor, so the most important interior spaces are at grade”.
7. Luminosity
The most important interior spaces are now filled with natural light and are strongly communicating with the outdoors. White was chosen as the dominating color. Along with the neutral, the reflective properties of the flooring material enhances the rooms’ interaction with light.
8. Accent Of Color
In a neutral dominated setting, a pop of bright red comes as a breath of fresh air, instantly capturing the eye’s attention. The red railing marks the staircase and leads the eye upwards, inviting for exploration.
9. Rhythm
A skylight is introduced to mark the staircase, but also to reinforce and double the staircase’s rhythm.
On the second floor, the bathroom benefits of natural light and privacy. In terms of colors, the accent is placed on the bathtub. An accent wall, in a pastel color, doubles the tub and captures the observer’s attention.
D’Arcy Jones Architecture strives to “articulate a balance between the familiar and the unexpected”. It seems that in the 430 House, they managed to do just that, creating a harmonious environment. Check out the architect’s website if you want to know more about their projects. Don’t forget to share with us your thoughts and opinions regarding 430 House.
