Ravine House

A family of four asked for a house that would live with the ravine behind it — not beside it. The lot falls nine metres through oak and maple; the light arrives low, filtered, and from the north-east.

Our response is a single bar laid along the contour, opening its long elevation to the trees. Every principal room faces the ravine; circulation runs along the street side as a lit gallery wall. The section does the work: living spaces sit a half-level below entry, so the canopy fills the glazing from floor to ceiling.

The engineering is deliberately invisible. An exposed steel transfer carries eleven metres of clear span across the living room — no columns interrupt the glass — and the roof plate cantilevers three metres to shade the summer sun while admitting the low winter light.