x and y house, whitehorse
red barn, grey-green house, Edmonton
Being cautious of notion of newness, investigate existing house typology with integration of modern living. With house as laboratory, perpetual experimentation expected. On-going negotiation with spouse anticipated. Renovate the good stuff : the mid-cen- tury modern. Secretly dream of restoring a white picket American beauty, decorating with reams of silk. Immediately seek confes- sion. Spend infinite Sunday afternoons at realtors’ open houses seeking diamond in the rough, with ridiculously low asking price. Invade the space of the builder : do so without being obnoxious. Study Housebrand in Calgary’s business plan; secretly acquire realtor’s license. Renovate own house: aban- don effort out of exhaustion. Commend John Brown for energy and vision. 3. Architects claiming houses, negotiation
Pioneer to the great wide open : self- ejection from the life of the city. Dream of occupying village a la Brian MacKay-Lyons. Spend hours staring at security gates with that inviting feel. Wonder why friends refuse to visit in winter. Jack Kobayashi’s X and Y House in Whitehorse : new duplex in Copper Ridge development outside the city. An architect’s duplex in a new suburb. Address: 22X and 22Y Olivine Place Owners: Wendy Donnithorne (22X) and Jack Kobayashi (22Y) Predominant siding material in Copper Ridge: vinyl. Siding on X and Y House: Hardiplank cementitious board. Predominant color of siding in Copper Ridge: baby blue, beige and white. Color of X and Y House: dark grey and blue. No double garage or peaked roof in sight. While impossible in any other city in the country, magically uncritical of others despite cut and paste nature of vinyl village.
Husband and Wife Architects Carol Belanger and Naomi Minja’s new house : a house and a barn in posh Edmon- ton neighborhood. Red Barn: living/dining, kitchen, unfinished basement. Grey-Green House: bedrooms, bathrooms, access to sun porch, crawl space. Sinewy connection welcomes, divides, family porch on grade and private sunbaths above. Site accommodates inhabitable sculpture, prairie grasses. Ar- chetypal notion of home blends with historic fabric. c
Joylyn Teskey graduated from Dalhousie School of Architecture and is an intern at Stantec in Edmonton.
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