Liminal House: McLeod Bovell - Hardcover

by Aaron Betsky (Introduction by), Hufton +. Crow (Photographer), Botanica Design (Author)

Where something begins and ends The liminal is a transformational state between the position where something meets, mixes, and merges. The Liminal House straddles a similar threshold between West Vancouver's natural stony seashore and its suburban residential neighborhood. Courtyards, cantilevers, and the extension of floor area over exterior space dismantles boundaries between the house and the natural environment in which it exists and a strategy of mixing and merging, where light is reflected and landscapes are invited towards the interior of the home, collapses a normal reading of interior space. The house is animated by the ever-changing outdoor atmosphere; expansive walls of sliding glass open to a dark pool that reflects and extends the environment near the ocean. Concrete, black stained Accoya wood, and coated aluminum plate are the only exterior materials as they are tough and long-wearing in harsh and everchanging environments.

Author Biography

Aaron Betsky was a Professor at Virginia Tech. Previously, he was President of the School of Architecture at Taliesin. A critic of art, architecture, and design, Mr. Betsky is the author of over twenty books on those subjects. He writes a once-weekly blog for architectmagazine. com, Beyond Buildings. Trained as an architect and in the humanities at Yale University, Mr. Betsky has served as the Director of the Cincinnati Art Museum (2006-2014) and the Netherlands Architecture Institute (2001-2006), as well as Curator of Architecture and Design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1995-2001). In 2008, he also directed the 11th Venice International Biennale of Architecture. His latest books are Fifty Lessons from Frank Lloyd Wright (2021), Making it Modern (2019), Architecture Matters (2019) and Anarchitecture: The Monster Leviathan (2023)

Botanica Design is a landscape design/build studio founded in 1998 and located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are a collaborative team of designers, builders and horticulturists dedicated to creating, constructing and maintaining thoughtful and well built landscapes. With a shared approach, their gardens are realized utilizing both theoretical and practical knowledge. Through a process of inquiry, their work is continuously evolving. Although they are largely a creative studio, they are practical beyond belief and considerate of all aspects of the project. Maintenance plays an integral role in the formation of their intended vision. Their belief is that the best designs are built over time by knowledgeable, skilled and creative gardeners. As both designers and constructors they are able to merge all facets of a project to create a seamless design-build process that leaves nothing lost in translation.