The Screen House by Rendy Bens

The Screen house is actually a renovation of a 1950s house. It is located in a suburb of Vancouver, Canada. This Screen House is designed by a Canadian architect, Randy Bens. The aim of this renovation project is to add a new floor to the existing building, which is situated in a post war suburban neighborhood in the city of New Westminster, BC. The existing building was an L-shaped bungalow which was too small for the owner, an artist and psychologist who have three boys ages 17 to 26. The owner of the house wants a comfortable and spacious house design that is suitable for him and his family. The additional floor is planned to situate a studio, a master suite, and a deck to take advantage of the surrounding view.

In renovating this house, Randy Bens introduced a horizontal screen to counter the vertical nature of the resulting mass, and shade the south facing living room. This horizontal screen gives the composition a more restful and balanced appearance to this house design. At the ground plane, a concrete planter / plinth / address wall was introduced to reinforce the horizontality of the screen. Above and beside the existing windows, there are bright rolled zinc panels that aligned with new openings above. Simple palette of hardwood floors, wood trims, and off-white walls dominate both floors’ interior. It serves as a natural backdrop for the owner’s art collection. The two floors are united by a new steel stair, and these is solid wood treads match the recycled fir flooring which is used throughout the second floor. After renovation, this house measures 3500 square feet. It is a well designed house. Randy Bens did very good job. Please visit Randy Bens’ website to get more information.

Photographs by Roger Brooks Photography