Lantern House
Location / Vancouver
Project Type / Residential New Construction
Size / 2,600 sf
Completed / 2024
Photography / Ema Peter
The project brief from the client referenced the abstract minimalism of gallery spaces as inspiration for the project. From the client: “We want to contrast the precision of a modern minimalist home with materials and decorative elements that feel calm, humble and natural.”
Lantern House is unassuming from the exterior. A mixture of humble concrete, stucco and wood — its brutalist form relates to the scale and proportion of the mix of old and new homes in the neighbourhood. The front garden lends a hand in this, a wild, but subtly controlled meadow feels like the home was built around it, or somehow appeared in the middle of it.
Entering through the front door, the tone does not drastically shift, though it softens. A modest arrangement of budding branches sit in an Edo period vase on the concrete floor. Warm plaster walls contrast the precision of the built-in detailing in the mud room cabinetry. The main floor is expansive but warm, with a restrained palette. There is a clear view straight through to the monolithic kitchen island and an impressive expanse of nearly frameless glass sliders at the rear of the house, directly connected to the outdoor living space. In the centre of the room is a sunken seating area, featuring Donald Judd-inspired custom furnishings.
Despite its understated appearance, the seating area hides an impressive 10’ x 10’ double height space which connects to the sky with an enormous skylight above. One can imagine lying on the daybed, meditating on the passing clouds. Again, precision and imperfection in materiality find an effortless balance throughout the space. Less but better. There’s a quiet humility to the minimal aesthetic. All program elements are organized around the wooden lantern, which is illuminated in subtle ways - naturally and artificially - to provide a range of diverse atmospheric lighting conditions throughout the day and night.
The stairway up to the “sleeping floor” is calming in its simplicity. Once upstairs, beams of light peeking through the upper volume of the light well cast mesmerizing slatted shadows. The tone shifts noticeably further into a calm quiet living space. The light is sparser and moodier. The primary bedroom and ensuite are rich and dark in their material palette, while still retaining the restrained simplicity of the rest of the home. A vase, a stack of books or antiquity here and there, but otherwise a precise and pared down modernism bleeds into the beautiful naturalism of the darker plaster walls. The bathroom continues this motif, contrasted slightly by the nearly-invisible pane of glass and recessed shower head in the bathing area. A modest dressing room, though precise in its execution, feels quiet, and perfectly at home with the humble approach to the space.
Awards 2025 / Canadian Interiors / Project of the Year 2025 / AZ Awards / Award of Merit 2025 / Future House International Residential Award
