The Linear House was designed by Vancouver-based studio Patkau Architects. This single-level contemporary residence sits on a sixteen acre farm on Salt Spring Island, an island in the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada.
There was an existing cottage on the site which has been sold and relocated. The new house extends 276 feet in a straight line along the south side of the fir trees. The orchard has been made more regular with the addition of further fruit trees so that the clarity of the juxtaposition of cultural landscape to the south, and natural landscape to the north of the new house is reinforced. The new house is subdivided by a breezeway into a principal dwelling and guest quarters. The exterior of the house is clad in charcoal-colored fibre-cement panels which render the house almost invisible when seen against the dark green foliage of the fir trees. Interiors are described by a luminous inner lining made of translucent acrylic panels. Filling the home with natural light and air, the flexible and adaptable panels instantly transform the home into an open air pavilion. on the opposite side of the structure, a covered walkway spans the unit, sliding past the existing trees, edging an adjacent fruit orchard.
