Greentree

Fells House

Restoration and addition · 2025

Originally designed by Ron Thom of Thompson, Berwick & Pratt in 1958–59, Fells House is a landmark of West Coast modernism set into a rocky West Vancouver landscape. D’Arcy Jones Architects’ 2025 restoration and addition repaired the structure and cladding, renewed the original cedar and masonry language, and introduced a low-slung bedroom wing separated from the original house by landscape and light. Open Horizon built the restoration and addition, carrying new work into the existing house with close attention to proportion, material continuity and the surrounding garden.

The work joined a contemporary addition to a significant existing house while preserving its horizontal form, deep roof lines, cedar surfaces and relationship to the rock. Structural repairs, new services, restored materials and carefully placed openings had to read as one continuous piece of architecture rather than a visible sequence of old and new work.

Recognition

Featured on the West Vancouver Art Museum’s 20th Annual West Coast Modern Home Tour in 2026.

Fells House approached through a mature woodland garden.

Cedar, masonry and natural rock meeting at the Fells House entrance.

Sunlight crossing the cedar-clad bedroom wing at Fells House.

A narrow glazed opening between cedar volumes in the forest.

Fells House courtyard with cedar walls and a masonry chimney.

Covered cedar deck opening toward the surrounding forest.

Built-in shelving and a long interior view through Fells House.

Daylight from the slatted skylight falling across the stair.

Original masonry fireplace and corner glazing at Fells House.

Dining room with timber ceiling transitions and garden light.

Daylit bathroom with white surfaces and a framed garden view.

Site and architectural idea

The original Ron Thom house sits within a rocky garden. The restoration and low bedroom addition retain its horizontal form and relationship to the landscape.

Construction challenge

New work had to meet the existing structure while preserving deep roof lines, cedar surfaces and carefully proportioned openings.

Open Horizon’s work

Open Horizon built the restoration and addition, coordinating structural repairs, new services and material continuity.

Result

The completed restoration and addition reads as a continuous house, with landscape and light separating the new wing.

Project credits

Original architecture: Ron Thom, Thompson, Berwick & Pratt
Restoration and addition: D’Arcy Jones Architects
Construction: Open Horizon Developments
Original house: 1958–59
Restoration and addition completed: 2025
Location: West Vancouver, BC
Photography: Shane Hauser