en.Wedoany.com Reported - Scott & Scott Architects has completed a street-facing house in the Fernwood neighborhood of Victoria, Canada, combining commercial and residential functions and using materials such as locally sourced yellow cedar cladding and double-height plywood millwork. The owners are designer Hoyu Hsu and furniture designer Nathan Martell, who contacted the firm in 2016 to build a new house on a 454-square-meter street-facing lot rather than renovating the existing structure.
Hsu and Martell previously lived in Vancouver but, feeling exhausted, planned to move to Victoria where Martell grew up. They were attracted to this lot on Fernwood Road, close to the community square and downtown, and decided to build a new house. Architect Scott & Scott Architects, founded by David and Susan Scott, drew on their experience renovating projects in Vancouver's Eastside and embraced the concept of combining commercial and residential uses. The design requirements were clear: a two-bedroom rental suite, a street-facing studio, three additional bedrooms, and a sufficiently large terrace. After one round of revisions, the final layout placed the kitchen on the street side, the living space facing the quieter residential area behind, and added a loft-level bedroom. The house was moved forward on the lot, requiring a city-approved setback reduction; the architects also successfully applied to raise the slightly sunken ground floor closer to street level, bringing light into the studio and rental suite, and built three stories within the 2.5-story height limit.
The design incorporates the architects' signature elements: a large-volume living space with double-height plywood millwork, bedrooms arranged along one side, and generously sized, precisely positioned windows. In Hsu's west-facing office, a tall rectangular window frames a church spire and brings in midday light. The open kitchen and living area each have a large window on either side, with skylights dotting the space above. The bathroom uses simple, "ubiquitous" tiles. The upper facade features locally sourced yellow cedar cladding. David Scott noted that the yellow cedar is expected to weather over a longer period, and the firm waited until it had taken on a gray tone before photographing. All bedroom windows are the same size, creating a rhythm; other window heights were adjusted to limit sightlines from the street. Martell works in the ground-floor studio, whose glass facade and level floor open directly onto a small terrace connected to the sidewalk. Inside, the studio connects via an open doorway to the entrance staircase leading to the main floor of the house, which also includes a bathroom, storage space, and a guest bedroom.
The project underwent nearly a year of construction, sparking community discussions; to reduce costs, owner Hsu was deeply involved in project management and replaced the contractor. The completed house stands in stark contrast to the surrounding traditional buildings. Years after completion, the yellow cedar cladding has weathered, and the house has blended into the evolving vernacular of the street. A pine tree fills the rear-facing window. Martell's designs for the furniture brand Part & Whole add vitality to the interior. Martell said the connection to the street makes him feel like he is working rather than simply working from home when in the studio, and he often brings prototypes upstairs to the living space for observation and experimentation.
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