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A Winning Design for a Log Home Respects Tradition |
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2005-04
- by Susan McIver -
A project by Oliver architect Henry Yorke Mann has been featured by Log Home Living Magazine in its 2005 Floor Plan Design Contest.
This is Log Home Living's seventh annual review of the best in North American log home design as chosen by specialists in log home design and construction. Henry Yorke Mann Architect is the only Western Canadian firm selected for this award. A jury member, Dave Argo, wrote in his commendation, "A wonderfully modern and contemporary interpretation of the log cabin ideal, suitably sized as a small studio retreat. This design pays homage and respect to the tradition and craftsmanship of simple, efficient log structures."
The Totems, the featured design, is a guest cabin on a family retreat in Paradise Valley, north of Squamish, and replaces a derelict log cabin on the exact same footprint. Owned by Keith and Judy Scott, The Totems has provided an opportunity to show that people still exist who care passionately about creating items of value, beauty and craftsmanship.
"The source of the vision for this cabin lies in the spirits of the verdant growth and dramatic scenery in the Pacific Northwest area, as it was for the paintings of Emily Carr and Jack Wise," Mann said.
A straw bale house located east of Oliver and owned by Duane Hamm and Catherine MacNeill, is another of Mann's recently completed homes. This home, known as Salix, is a 1500 square foot structure with over 30 concrete columns erected on the basic foundation. The columns support an exposed vaulted wood beam ceiling covered with a timber frame and metal roof. The straw bales were woven between the columns and once in place, received three coats of coloured plaster inside and out.
"We're very proud to live in a house designed by Henry Mann," MacNeill said. A native of Rossland, the son and grandson of master builders, Mann is a 1954 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Architecture. "The only way I could get a university education was through an athletic scholarship at a U.S. university," he said. Both of his parents were hard working, creative people who valued independent thinking. "Just because everyone else is doing something it doesn't mean you have to," Mann remembers his mother saying.
From 1953 to 1969, Mann operated both a highly regarded architectural firm and a construction business in Vancouver. During this time he designed numerous residences, resorts and public buildings including the Killarney Community Centre on 49th Avenue. Ever mindful of creating beautiful functional alternatives to expensive buildings, Mann designed a 340 square foot floating office in Coal Harbour.
"The reasons I left architecture in 1969 are complicated," he said, referring to his decision to leave a stellar career to homestead north of Vancouver. In 1972, he moved to Oliver where he operated a 700 acre cattle ranch until the mid -1990s.
In the transition from rancher back to architect, Mann wrote his book, "Architecture - Part of the God Dance" which was published in 1996. Resumption of his architectural career has taken time but current clients as former ones, are drawn to Mann's designs that harmonize physical function with natural materials and the sacred.
"My intuitive way of working takes time. It's not as financially rewarding as more conventional architecture," Mann said.
For more information visit the website www.henryyorkemann.com |
