The West Coast Modern House

Author: Greg Bellerby, C.E. (Ned) Pratt, Jana Tyner, Chris Macdonald
Editor: Jennifer Webb
Designer: Mark Timmings
Publisher: Charles H. Scott Gallery, Figure 1 Publishing Inc.
Printed by: 1010 Printing Group Ltd., Yuan Zhou Town, China
Binding: Paperback
Dimensions: 28 x 23 x 2.1 cm
Page count: 175
Language: English
ISBN: 978 1 927958 23 0
Out of print

The West Coast Modern House chronicles the development of mid-century modern Vancouver residential architecture and its continued influence on contemporary practice. The post-war era in Vancouver defined what has become popularly known as the “West Coast Style.” Through the work of seminal figures such as B.C. Binning, Ned Pratt, Ron Thom, Fred Hollingsworth, Douglas Simpson, Barry Downs, and Arthur Erickson, Vancouver architects won national awards and international recognition for their innovative house designs. This period is now seen as one of the most important in the city’s architectural history.

Focusing on the period from 1940 to the mid-1960s, The West Coast Modern House features over fifty examples of modern houses. The book is richly illustrated with photographs taken at the time by noted architectural photographers Graham Warrington, Selwyn Pullan, and John Fulker. Essays by Greg Bellerby, Chris Macdonald, and Jana Tyner evoke the history and innovative design strategies of the early period and examine the ways in which they continue to be used by contemporary practitioners. The West Coast Modern House brings the reader to a greater understanding of the significance of modern residential architecture on the West Coast and the persistence and relevance of its innovative design, material and construction strategies.