This boxy house on the shores of Canada celebrates its site and makers
The Sandbox by Halifax-based Peter Braithwaite Studio, a boxy house in Canada’s New Brunswick, celebrates its site and makers
![dramatic hero shot of timber boxy house exterior in Canada called The Sandbox](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VERdkZd4fjurRhLXHAuksV-415-80.jpg)
This little boxy house, dramatically set on the shores of New Brunswick, Canada, is an ode to timber, its site and its makers. Designed by Halifax-based architects Peter Braithwaite Studio and titled The Sandbox, the project is the home of a local couple who operate and own an excavation business. It was the clients’ contacts in the area’s manufacturing and construction industry that the architecture team, led by practice founder Peter Braithwaite, made the most of and celebrated – alongside the home's chosen material, timber.
Making The Sandbox
The project gave the architects the opportunity to use 'locally milled timbers and carpenters, tying this build to vernacular processes of the region', the team explain. At the same time, the coming together brought by the collective effort of the construction and the dialogue between architects, clients, makers and the surrounding, small city of Bathurst's residents, inspired a community spirit that has far outlived the building process.
The home's outline is pared down and seemingly simple – a squarish eastern white cedar wood box, punctuated by the Corten-steel form of a feature staircase that wraps around the upper levels, connecting the two top floors. This straightforward, but quite powerful gesture, along with the Corten steel entrance windbreak, marks the house as unmistakably contemporary among its neighbours. At the same time, a long, winding strip window on the opposite façade creates a geometric play and frames long views of the sea beyond.
Inside, an open-plan living space makes the most of the vistas. The collaboration between architect and client is felt here too, as the studio explains: 'The client’s passion for gathering and food inspired the kitchen to be organised around a custom island that acts as the central hearth of the room. Above the kitchen and living area, the master bedroom captures views of the mouth of the bay through another corner wrapped in glazing.'
Ultimately, the team concludes, 'this New Brunswick home is a reflection of its sandy site outwardly focused to nature.'
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
A dramatic new lakeside cabin in the Canadian wilderness rises above the trees
Kariouk Architects' lakeside cabin ‘m.o.r.e. CLT’ explores new material approaches while making a minimal impact on a precious landscape
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Forest Retreat is a new low-energy family house in the forests of Ontario
Set beneath a vast roof, Forest Retreat is a rich mix of local materials, craftsmanship and space for an extended family to get together in the heart of nature
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Join the West Coast Modern Week's Home Tour 2024 for modernist architecture and more
West Coast Modern Week 2024 comes with its annual home tour courtesy of the West Vancouver Art Museum, offering an extensive, immersive showcase of Canada's modernist architecture
By Hadani Ditmars Published
-
A modernist lakeside cottage in Ontario provides a perfect backdrop for family vacations
A lakeside cottage by Canadian studio Dubbeldam Architecture + Design has been shaped as a modest multigenerational retreat to accommodate the surrounding wilderness
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Visit a cubic Canadian cabin in the woods: welcome to Rustic Grade
Maurice Martel has designed a contemporary cabin in the woods, Rustic Grade, to make the most of a sylvan plot to the north of Montreal
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Whistling Wind is a remote Canadian cottage retreat to reconnect with nature
Whistling Wind house is an elegant escape on a remote Ontario island that offers up a contemporary reinterpretation of the local vernacular
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Whistler cabin offers a ‘transcendent experience’ to its occupants
Openspace Architecture’s Winterfell house is a Whistler cabin and luxurious contemporary ski retreat nestled within the forest
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A far-flung Nova Scotia retreat is a minimalist prefab exploration
Perched on the shores of Cape Breton Island this Nova Scotia retreat by Nicholas Fudge Architects combines prefabricated construction with traditional forms and minimal design
By Jonathan Bell Published