MODERNIST TREATMENT
Edmonton architect transforms lakefront property into a home that melds form, function and beauty
With its characteristically clean lines and low ornamentation, modernist architecture is often seen as an art form. Hitting the scene post-first World War, and made famous through works by architectural greats like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, modernism is only now, 100 years later, becoming a sought-after mainstream home design style.
“All of those great names laid the foundation, so in that sense modernism has been a long-standing tradition,” says Ernst von Meijenfeldt, founder and principal at E3 Architecture in Edmonton. He is originally from Holland, where he earned a degree in architecture at the famous School of Architecture at TU Delft and held a practice in Amsterdam for two decades.
But he explains that most people are not aware that modernism is much more than just a veneer.
“It's not an esthetic; it is really an approach,” says von Meijenfeldt, who has written a book on modernist design.
He defines modernism by its simplicity of form, with very little ornamentation. “It's all about space and light and beauty and proportion,” he says.
Modernism also incorporates heavy dollops of functionalism — meaning it really takes into consideration how people move and live through the space, while also incorporating site-specific design.
“How the sun rises and sets, how the views work through the seasons, the slope of the land — that right away puts a lot of context into the design,” he says.
And modernism offers tremendous flexibility from pure minimalism to designs with warmer overtones — think modern farmhouse designs with peaked roofs.
“It's very personal,” says von Meijenfeldt, noting that as an architect you are always in service to the client. “What is their dream, how do they want to live their life?”
So when Edmontonians Mark and Michelle Ross came to him wanting to renovate and add an addition to their 40-year-old bungalow-style cabin on Jackfish Lake, about 65 kilometres west of Edmonton, a collaboration began, starting with a synergy of ideas.
“I'm really interested in structure and how things are built and in architecture — how people live and move through a home,” says Mark Ross, a physician with a background in chemical engineering. His wife Michelle is an artist who works from home and often moves from space to space and room to room, while working, to chase the light.
The couple had owned the 1,700-square-foot cabin (it sits on a secluded and treed three-acre waterfront lot) for a few years and over that time had really been able to get a feel for how the interior spaces worked in relation to the site.
Although there was a screenedin front porch that captured lake views, the rest of the home really didn't take advantage of the panoramic vistas.
The couple, who uses their Jackfish waterfront home as a recreational property, a retreat from the city, knew that they wanted to recreate it in a modernist style and had some very specific requirements in mind.
In addition to adding more space (the completed home now hovers around 3,000 square feet), the couple wanted to add a solarium, as well as a master bedroom that faced the lake, taking full advantage of the views. The home also had to have plenty of space for the couple's two kids and their friends.
They wanted a lake house that was functional, beautiful and durable, built to withstand the ravages of time — all qualities that weave in with the couple's long-term plan to transition this property into their permanent home. They also wanted to have full control over the interior design.
The architectural challenge in the design lay in integrating the old-school, wood-framed cabin into the new modernist design, while reorienting the home's sight lines toward the lake.
“It was really a challenging project because the existing house was already so much what it was, so it really became an ensemble,” says von Meijenfeldt.
The final result is a symphony of form — corrugated steel and plenty of glass with organic wood elements and pops of vibrant red. The interior spaces are clean, with Caribbean blue juxtaposed with white walls, the perfect backdrop for the couple's art collection.
“Horizontal windows help the human spirit to expand,” says von Meijenfeldt.
“The flavour is very modernist but the windows allow you to sit there and dream away, to drift over the horizon and the lake and be in reverie.”