Featured Property

Swanwick Ranch

Award-winning architect, Marko Simcic, fuses classic ecology with modern design on the coast of British Columbia.

When Vancouver, British Columbia architect Marko Simcic discovered this 68-acre oceanfront parcel in Metchosin for his clients’ new home, little did he know that from this breathtaking canvas of ancient oak grove, sea, and pasture would surface a creative masterpiece now known around the world as Swanwick Ranch.

By the time Simcic found the land, complete with 1,400 feet of low-bank waterfront, he had come to know his clients well but had already put pen to paper on another home. “The project was abandoned because the location was too remote,” Simcic says. “They asked us to find a new property for them, and when we found this, we loved it and so did they.”

Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island near the city of Victoria, the lot had all of the qualities that appealed to the couple. It was large enough for plenty of privacy, it was steeped in natural beauty, and it was convenient enough for their four children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to come for extended vacations.

The basic requirements for the home’s design were to take advantage of the amazing views, bring as much light as possible into the space, and somehow provide public and private places that always kept the family connected, even if only visually.

“They wanted a lot of light,” Simcic explains. “At the time that we were talking, they had lived in Texas for a number of years and were used to heat and light and sun. Victoria, on the other hand, while the mildest region in Canada, is a lot cloudier.” Simcic notes the inspiration for walls of glass and a general transparency from room to room.

One of the most unique characteristics of the property is the Garry Oak grove that surrounds the home. As it turns out, this was the defining factor for the way the house was sited and eventually constructed.

“This is the only place in Canada where these oaks exist,” Simcic says. “It is a beautiful, gnarly species, and the trees are always accompanied by a specific ecosystem of grass and flowers. They’ve been in serious decline because of development; they don’t take kindly to change, and this house was a big change.” In order to protect the trees and the ecosystem, the firm hired experts to study the subsurface ground water to ensure their safety while allowing the house to be built close to the grove.

The goal was to have the house sited to take advantage of the grove and ocean views. The couple also wanted a boat launch. Simcic brought in an arborist to carefully map the grove so as to provide the owners with a three-dimensional view of the land without disturbing the grove’s root system. That subsurface map ultimately led to the design of the long and narrow shape of the house that cantilevers from a central spine.

“The second ingredient to the house design was to do what we could to preserve the natural ground water flow,” Simcic explains. “We wanted to build a house that, from the perspective of the trees, was not there.” This involved setting footings under the house to allow the ground water to flow naturally. “Also, we built it so that the rainwater that falls onto the house sheds off the eaves, as though no structure was here.”

Today, the oak grove not only enhances the dreamy ocean views, but also provides shade in summer and allows sunlight to bathe the rooms in winter. In addition, the trees provide an element of privacy along the waterfront where there is a public walking trail.

Perhaps one of the most dramatic and unusual aspects of the home’s design is the active ocean waterway that divides the guest living quarters from the main house which is connected by terraces and outdoor bridges. It is filled with ocean water that is constantly being pumped, exchanging heat in an open loop hydrothermal system.

“The system is similar to geothermal, but here, we use the ocean water as the heat source,” notes Simcic. “There is a pipe that runs from the house to the ocean floor, and this is the sole source of heat for the house.”

But rather than pushing the water through a pipe, the firm’s design team decided to use the spine of water as a design element, creating a vein of light and movement—a glistening ribbon of blue that moves back to the ocean floor. It is just six inches deep, but the effect, both in sound and vision, is astonishing. Add to that the eight bridges that bring one back and forth between various rooms, and the experience of being here is incomparable; the transparency of the rooms makes one conscious of moving through the space, all the while experiencing something quite special.

The main wing is situated on the waterside, while the guest wing enjoys bucolic views of the farm that sits at the back of the property on the street side. The house is split from east to west and divided from north to south. The sunny south ocean side is a large open space, which includes the living room, dining room, kitchen, terrace, and swimming pool. Glass walls maintain the open flow and keep the family members visually connected to each other, but the fact that one has to use an outside bridge to get from the guest side to the main house offers privacy for the families. In contrast, all rooms on the north side—the library, bathrooms, bedrooms—are small, intimate spaces.

“This design is consistent in both houses, and in large part, this reflects the personalities of the couple,” says Simcic. “He wanted open space and she wanted intimacy, so we organized the spaces so both got their wishes, and it made sense,” he explains.

Simcic’s firm chose the simplest materials to create the space. Concrete walls, some clad in Travertine stone, add visual variety. Both walls and floors are heated; in fact all of the mechanical and electrical systems of the home are accessible via the Internet. The roof structure and ceilings are framed in wood, with outer walls clad in white oak. The canyon walls are made of glass that has been silkscreened with the wood siding to take advantage of the outside light while providing privacy where required.

“In some areas, you can see through the glass,” Simcic says. “We thought about the outer and inner landscape, too, and how this supports the courtyard feeling that connects the space back to the landscape.” A roof deck built over the dining room allows one to see into both the kitchen and living room. That was important to the couple, because they always want to be within sight of their grandchildren.

One of the largest rooms is the kitchen, which is open to the dining room and sitting area in order to maintain a family connection, whether it is to cook together or just talk while preparing meals.

The flooring in the main wing is a dark chocolate hardwood called wenge, an African wood that is manufactured at a tree farm. The rich color recalls the earthy tones of the landscape and adds an element of warmth. In contrast, the guest wing floor is concrete, a less-fussy choice to accommodate the traffic and play of all the children.

In order to provide the families with all that they need to be entertained during their extended stays, there is a covered swimming pool, a hot tub, a tennis court complete with lighting for night games, entertainment rooms, and an enclosed boathouse with direct ocean access. In addition, there is a separate caretaker’s residence with a fully operating auto service bay.

In 2006, Simcic’s firm was honored with an architecture award from the Canadian National Architects, and in 2008, it was honored for a second time with an award from the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Architecture and Environmental Design.

It is not surprising that the late Canadian landscape painter Emily Carr was inspired by this special piece of land. Perhaps with this home unobtrusively hugging the ocean’s edge, framed in blue sky, with land sequined in oak and pasture, a new canvas will come. – By Anna Kasabian, Photographs by Russ Heinl.

Contact: Robert Milloy at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, 250-881-4737, swanwickranch.com; Marko Simcic Architect, 604-731-3879, markosimcic.com.

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