Cortes Island B.C. Retreat

Completed while employed at Balance Associates, Kyle was the project architect who managed the project from the initial design phase and worked with the owners and contractor through the end of construction. Sited on natural granite bedrock at the south end of Desolation Sound on Cortes Island, British Columbia, the site contains a dramatic peninsula and cliff, which serve as a windbreak for Cortes Bay and the Seattle and Vancouver yacht clubs. The sea front side of the house is elevated up off of the bedrock with steel columns and exposed wood floor beams and cantilevered decks. The entry side of the house is grounded to the bedrock with concrete forms that visually anchor the house to the site. The central great room includes living, dining, and kitchen and is flanked by a guest suite and study to the west and a master suite to the morning sunlight of the east.

Builder: Blue Moon Woodworks
Photographer: Steve Keating