These photos of Ron Thom’s Boyd House are from the blog Architecture Wanted which provides a good introduction to this house. Also see a great post by Cam McLellan on his Vancouver Lights blog and an article in Western Living by the house’s current owner, Kerry McPhedran. I can’t improve on what these three have already written about this excellent building.
For those who don’t know, Ron Thom was one of Vancouver’s pre-eminent modern architects in what now seems to be the golden era of architecture in this city. He produced many superb modernist post-and-beam houses in Vancouver, particularly in West Vancouver which is locally famous for houses built in that tradition. Writer Douglas Coupland lives in the same area in a Ron Thom house not unlike this one.
The Boyd House, built in 1954, is a great example of this westcoast modern architecture, and fortunately it hasn’t suffered bad renovations. Noted architect Russell Hollingsworth was hired to do one of the remodels, for example.
The house is currently for sale, and the owner is very concerned that it be sold to someone who actually cares about it. There are far too many small and large developers demolishing modernist houses in Vancouver, and replacing them with unsustainably large houses of poor architectural quality.
Real estate information is here. I’m told there may be the opportunity for infill here if the original house is maintained. The municipality of West Vancouver seems to be running a pilot project to encourage this, which is fortunate. I hope the house goes to someone worthy of it. We don’t have enough of these well-designed houses to see any of them demolished.
See another Thom house here.
Wonderful post…lovely home. I will enjoy learning more about Ron Thom and the other links.