Stewardship preserves a West Coast ‘extreme wood’ classic

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1043 Clements Ave., North Vancouver

Asking Price: $2,195,000

Taxes: $6,547.12 (2021)

Agents: Jason Choi and Trent Rodney (West Coast Modern Group)

The back story

The late Henry Yorke Mann was born in the mountains of Rossland, B.C. He grew up to become a ski racer, then an iconoclastic architect known for his embrace of “extreme wood.”

His 2015 obituary in The Globe and Mail described Mr. Mann as one of the earliest and most ardent proponents of the heavy-timber, hand-crafted architecture that would visually symbolize 1960s West Coast bohemianism.

Mr. Mann built his own house of cedar on Clements Avenue in North Vancouver in 1958. The 700-square-foot dwelling was set deep in a stand of trees about one mile from Capilano Canyon.

After Mr. Mann’s tenure, the property changed hands a few times before Peter and Anne Buchanan discovered it for sale in 1990.

Mr. Buchanan, an architect, and Ms. Buchanan, an interior designer, could see right through the double tongue-and-groove cedar walls in places, but they were charmed by the well-planned interior.

“On the outside, it really did not look like much,” Ms. Buchanan recalls, “but inside it was all wood, which we loved because we’re outdoors adventure people.”

The couple purchased the property and Mr. Buchanan began to think about how he would go about preserving Mr. Mann’s retreat.

“It really wasn’t a building that was going to survive for any length of time,” he says. “Anybody in their right mind would have taken the building down and it would have gone to landfill.”

The couple lived in the house for a few years while they contemplated a new design. As they prepared for the renovation, a man knocked on the door while Ms. Buchanan was at home, surrounded by small children, preparations for Christmas and packing boxes.

It was Mr. Mann, who had stopped by to see what had become of his haven.

“He was so happy we were going to do a renovation,” she recalls. “He said, ‘I can see why an architect would want to build on this.’ ”

The house today

The Buchanans began by removing the built-in furniture from the cabin and biowashing the interior.

Mr. Buchanan knew the existing cedar box would not support additional stories, so he worked with a local structural engineer “who supported adventuresome thinking” to devise a plan to build on top of Mr. Mann’s structure.

He created a concrete foundation perimeter around the existing cedar box, then placed a fir exoskeleton on top to support a new second and third floor. Glass gaskets separated the exterior walls of the old and new structures.

“I wanted to do something that was a counterpoint to the existing building and that was adventurous,” he says.

In the early years of his career, Mr. Buchanan had gained experience building boats and an airplane; he used those skills to do much of the work himself in a workshop he built on the property. The home’s slanting roof was inspired by marine architecture.

He also recruited an ambitious young builder named Jason Hart and, following eight months of construction, the Buchanans moved back in.

The roof was still covered by tarps and the interior was unfinished, but the couple worked on the project as they raised their two children, Nevada and Max. While the children were small, Ms. Buchanan ran a neighbourhood daycare out of the house. Mr. Buchanan was a principal at the global design firm Stantec where he was immersed in designing airport terminal buildings, water filtration plants and other large projects.

After 26 years, the Buchanans moved to Whistler, where their firm North Architecture Studio takes on mainly residential projects.

The next owner to take over the stewardship of Mr. Mann’s hideaway was Melissa Noel, who still owns the house today.

In 2018, Ms. Noel and her partner were recognized with a North Vancouver District Heritage Award for their renovation.

“They were the right buyers,” Mr. Buchanan says of the thoughtful restoration.

Ms. Noel says she started out with plans for a light refurbishment, but the project became more involved. Her first priority was to turn the first floor – Mr. Mann’s original hideaway – into a separate suite that would help to pay the mortgage if necessary.

“Because the house was originally all on one floor, we could almost go back to what it was,” she says.

She reused the kitchen cabinets on the lower level. Upstairs, she installed a new kitchen with a palette of neutral tones and minimalist design that would not compete with the architecture.

Today the house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,910 square feet of living space. The basement suite can be used as a separate unit.

Inside, Ms. Noel preserved the living space as Mr. Buchanan designed it. The fir interior and an open staircase at the centre of the house are intact. Throughout the home, Ms. Noel found grey accents so she carried that through by painting some of the walls and the stair’s metal rail in deep charcoal.

The third floor primary suite has a new, modern bathroom; pop-up ceilings; and a walkout to a cedar deck in the treetops.

Ms. Noel refinished the home’s cedar decks and railings and added new landscaping. It was important, she says, to leave the trees as untouched as possible to maintain the feeling of serenity.

“Some people would have trimmed the branches but you’re looking out at the trees and you have that privacy.”

Ms. Noel says the third floor deck is a relaxing spot for a glass of wine on a summer evening.

“You look up to Grouse Mountain.”

The property was listed in early April with an asking price of $2.195-million and sold after seven days for $2.375-million.

The best feature

The Buchanans say the project allowed them to experiment with materials and natural light. They used reclaimed wood and recycled glass wherever they could.

“We were very conscious of our environmental footprint all the way through,” says Mr. Buchanan, who used many of his techniques in subsequent projects.

Ms. Buchanan also used the interior as a canvas, painting and repainting walls and metal elements in various palettes over the years to enhance the wood.

“We loved the honesty of it – the expression of real material and the natural light,” Mr. Buchanan says. “It’s a piece of sculpture.”

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