SIMULACRUM GRAHAM HOUSE

PROFESSOR - RICARDO CASTRO YEAR - FALL 2016 IN COLLABORATION WITH - ANKIT GONGAL, OLIVIER LALANCETTE, NATHALIE MARJ

“The David Graham house […] launched my reputation as the architect you went to when you had an impossible site.” -A.E.

In Arthur Erickson’s words, the site on which sat the house is a sheer rock cliff overseeing the sea. As a result, the design comprises a multi-storey house dropping in levels on the 40 feet slope. The celebration of the verticality of the site is exemplified through the merging of both vertical and horizontal solutions. Thereby, Erickson demonstrates through his approach a profound understanding of the genius loci. The formal concept underlying the design is the piling up of hovering beams to enclose major living areas on a 4 storeys descent, following a philosophy of maximisation of views and sunlight. Due to the challenging nature of the site, each of the areas of the house open onto a rooftop over the spaces bellow, as the roof terraces are the only possible outdoor living areas.

Hence, the simulacrum reflects the predominant steep slope on which sits the Graham house. Each layer of the topography represents 0.75m in height. These superimposed layers were lasercut, whereas the model of the house was cut and glued by hand.

Location: West Vancouver, B.C., Canada Design year: 1962 Architects : Arthur Erickson, Geoffrey Massey

Model Scale: 1:200 Model Materials: Chipboard, small trees,wood dowels