Factory Model

Forget shipping containers and cookie-cutter models— architect John Hemsworth is changing the way we look at (and live in) prefab houses.

Written by Rachel Gallaher

Photographed by Ema Peter

A steeply raked lot and a desire for energy efficiency drove the trilevel design of this new 3,500-square-foot Whistler, BC, home, designed by architect John Hemsworth and prefabricated at the BC Passive House Factory in Pemberton, just a half-hour from the site.

Dense trees on the east side of the lot ensure privacy for the freestanding Blu Bathworks tub and Kohler sink in the master bathroom. Floor and wall tiles were sourced through Stone Tile Pacific.

In the kitchen, floor tile by Terratinta Ceramiche and Caesarstone countertops from Mario Marble & Tile visually balance Sherwin-Williams’s zero-VOC White Cloud paint.

Vertical cedar strips and charred cedar siding on the home’s exterior are meant to weather naturally, changing shades over time.

As the old saying goes, sometimes one thing leads to another. Such was the case four years ago when architect John Hemsworth designed the award-winning BC Passive House Factory (Canada’s first manufacturing plant to produce prefabricated wall panels for use in highly energy-efficient homes) in Pemberton, British Columbia. Through the plant’s owners, he would meet Whistler residents Federica and Andrea Padovani, an Italian couple looking for a modern, environmentally conscious home with an artist’s studio for Andrea. A prefab structure was on the table from the start, with one caveat: it couldn’t look like a stereotypical shipping-container dwelling.

Given the site’s sharply sloping 30-degree grade and Whistler’s stringent height regulations, a traditional house would not be feasible. Instead the structure is made up of two wood-clad rectangles, offset one above the other and connected by a central section that contains the main living areas. Working closely with BC Passive House and Dürfeld Constructors, Hemsworth designed the ultra-low-energy home using Passive House principles. Utilizing BCPH’s high-performance panel system and Optiwin Passive House–rated windows, the building’s envelope is super-insulated and air-tight and has been detailed to minimize the amount of energy required to heat or cool the interior spaces. The house was prefabricated in panels, delivered to the site, and erected in three days. Both the upper and lower sections are clad in thin vertical slats of cedar siding. The onsite team charred the cedar of the linking central section with blowtorches to visually distinguish it from the home’s other volumes.

Modern lines and a light interior palette, bolstered by larchwood ceilings and floors, lend the house a calm Scandinavian sensibility that its residents readily embrace. “There has to be a connection between the building and the people who live there,” Andrea reflects. “Like a heart inside a body, giving it life, we see ourselves as the heart of this home.”

The clients asked for a simple, streamlined interior. Hemsworth answered with a living room connected to an outdoor patio by a sliding-door system from Optiwin. A wood-burning Stûv Model 30 stove from Vaglio Fireplace Centre adds a hyggeinspired aesthetic. The nesting tables and sofa were purchased through Home Delight, and the cowhide rug is from IKEA.