Search

A Vancouver Home that Looks Like an Urban Sculpture

Architect Oliver Lang, of Lang Wilson Practice in Architecture Culture (LWPAC), and Vanglo Sustainable Construction Group builder Martin Warren (who handled the interior design, as well) teamed up on the first Vanglo House in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood. This home not only looks like a modern urban sculpture, it’s an ENERGY STAR® efficient home as well. Vanglo is known for restoring and renovating homes in the Vancouver area, but this time, an abandoned house at 135 East 17th caught their eye giving them the opportunity to create and design a green, eco-friendly home.

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-2

The top floor outdoor lounge is a natural extension of the open plan top floor, giving the residents a private space to enjoy the outdoors.

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-4

They paid careful attention to the demolition of the original house on the lot, with 95% of the waste material going to a facility that takes waste wood and turns it into bioethanol. The house was designed to use specific materials and construction methods with the hope that maintenance down the line would be minimal and energy consumption would be lower.

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-5

The complex design of the home allows the homeowners free reign as to how they want to use each space. The interior was even designed with no load-bearing walls!

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-6

I love how the windows look out to the tops of the trees making you feel like you’re in a treehouse.

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-7

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-7a

The windows look randomly placed, but I’m sure there is a reason for their locations. Each one frames another view of the trees, like works of art.

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-8-master-bath

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-8a

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-3-garage

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-9

The lot wasn’t that deep so they went with a much larger front exterior with a faceted facade.

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-10

Mt-Pleasant-Home-Oliver-Lang-11

Interior styling by Gaile Guevara.
Photos by Ema Peter.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.