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JOHN BROWN is the editor of theslowhome.com and the founder of the Slow Home Movement. He is a registered architect, real estate broker and Professor of Architecture at the University of Calgary.
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Expansive, Light and Free Flowing Space
Living Space
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Kitchen
Hall
Bathroom Millwork Detail
Bathroom
Living Space
Floor and Ceiling Plan
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This project consisted of a gut renovation of a 1200 sf condo in West Vancouver. The existing narrow
space was laden with small, discontinuous and natural light deprived spaces. Extensive ceiling drops,
necessary to conceal electrical and mechanical services, reduced the ceiling to 7’-0” in the core of the
unit, further burdening the space.
Design strategies for the home, focused on the subtraction and manipulation of existing walls and
ceilings. In the kitchen, one wall was removed to open up the space to the dining area, while another
was shortened to allow natural light to spill into the adjacent, formerly isolated hallway. The new
enlarged white on white kitchen, anchored by a teak storage cube, is reoriented for efficiency and
interaction with adjacent spaces. In front of the sink and within the existing bay window space, an
integral planter with tall grasses obscures views to/from the adjacent building. Sliding, translucent glass
panels allow the user to further manipulate privacy and natural light levels.
The introduction of a high, frameless glass panel on the wall between the main entry and bathroom
allows natural light to penetrate what was once a dark, isolated space while maintaining privacy. A
similar strategy was utilized in the master bathroom, where a vertical slot of glass is inserted into the
wall, bringing in natural light while providing a means for the eye to stretch across the adjoining master
bedroom and to the distant mountains beyond.
The newly framed dropped ceiling further promotes the feeling of expansive, light and free flowing
space, and plays an active role in defining the new home. Separated from the main ceiling and walls by
deep, continuous reveals, the crisp, thin dropped ceiling plane appears to float in the space. The new
lighting scheme was designed to eliminate the need for the extra depth required for conventional
recessed lighting and consists of a grid of fixtures that are semi recessed within alcoves carved into the
shallow ceiling plane.
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We believe that our homes and neighborhoods should be healthy, vibrant places that uplift the spirit and gracefully fit our needs. We call for an end to poor construction, bad design, misleading marketing, unfair lending practices and environmental neglect in the housing industry. We acknowledge our collective responsibility to create CLOSE, SIMPLE, LIGHT places to live that leave a positive legacy for future generations.
provides design focused information that homeowners can use to improve the quality of how and where they live. It takes its name from the slow food movement which arose as a reaction to the processed food industry. The sprawl of cookie cutter housing that surrounds us is like fast food - standardized, homogenous, and wasteful. It contributes to a too fast life that is bad for us, our cities, and the environment. In the same way that slow food raises awareness of the food we eat and how these choices affect our lives, Slow Home empowers you to take more control of your home and improve the quality of how you live while reducing your environmental impact and futureproofing the long term investment value of your home.
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