New Build · Surrey
Surrey Contemporary
Location
Surrey
Year
2023
Size
5,400 sq ft
Duration
16 months
About This Project
Clean lines. Warm materials. Enduring presence.
The Surrey Contemporary sits on a wide, flat lot in South Surrey's developing Grandview Heights neighbourhood — a blank canvas that presented its own challenge. Without the dramatic topography of North Shore sites, the architecture had to create its own tension and interest from first principles.
The solution was a Z-shaped plan that organizes the 5,400 square foot program into three wings: a public living zone facing the street, a private bedroom wing retreating into the lot, and a garage pavilion completing the enclosure of a generous motor court. The interstitial spaces between the wings become private outdoor rooms — a sheltered dining terrace on the south side, a lap pool courtyard on the east.
Inside, a refined palette of book-matched Calacatta marble, blackened steel, and wide-plank white oak delivers luxury without pretension. The house is quiet about what it cost to build, which is exactly what the clients asked for.
Challenges & Solutions
Challenge
South Surrey's clay soil and high water table created challenging foundation conditions. The lap pool, located below grade, required a waterproofing system capable of withstanding hydrostatic pressure equivalent to a 1-in-200 year storm event.
Solution
We specified a tanked waterproofing system with a drainage board and sump pump redundancy, backed by a 25-year material warranty. The raft slab foundation was designed with post-tensioning to eliminate cracking risk in the expansive clay — a detail that added three weeks to the construction schedule but will be invisible and irrelevant for the life of the building.
Photography
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