Trinity House Just a block from a busy intersection in East Vancouver, this corner-lot home sits at the edge of constant movement: headlights, traffic noise, and the gaze of passersby.
Idea
Measured was retained to provide a landscape response to an existing home with the pressing need to manage noise, light, and visibility from the street while fostering a sense of refuge and community. The result is a layered landscape—part community gesture, part private retreat—where neighbours can enjoy plantings from the street while the family finds comfort and privacy just beyond. Each space is interconnected yet purposeful, supporting both everyday family life and spontaneous social encounters.
Build
The site unfolds a series of three distinct outdoor rooms:
- Front Yard – an extension of the home’s living and dining areas, inviting a coffee on the step, outdoor meals in the sun or conversations around a fire, while buffering the household from street gaze. A side-yard uses plantings to maximize additional space along the street.
- Back Yard – a cozy, terraced play and gathering space defined by heritage yellow cedar and bleacher-like seating for watching children at play.
- Laneway Roof – with plantings softening views and offering shelter from sun and neighbouring sightlines.
Grounded in sustainability, the design prioritizes reuse and repurposing. From salvaging fencing and existing plantings to incorporating reclaimed yellow cedar railway ties from Vancouver Island’s historic Inglewood rail line, embraces environmentally conscious practices. These materials carry stories of place and industry while being reimagined into safe, family-friendly elements like climbing structures and terraced bleacher seating.
Delivered in two seasonal phases across 2023, and taking inspiration from the existing the existing home designed by Ply Architecture, the project evolved with both practical and creative constraints in mind. Rising material costs demanded inventive approaches: common materials were reconfigured into unexpected, elevated forms. Simple concrete pavers were pixelated through varied colour mixes, ballast rock reclaimed from the site was reset as roof surfaces, and poured concrete piles became playful climbing structures. These choices reinforced the ethos of doing more with less, without compromising function or beauty.
As a home for young children, safety and playfulness were paramount. The backyard integrates elements inspired by playground design—railway-tie terraces for climbing and sitting, concrete forms for exploration—while ensuring durability and resilience. At the same time, the landscape team carefully curated a palette of drought-tolerant Indigenous species and Mediterranean to ensure the garden thrives in a warming climate. Plantings provide four-season coverage, shielding from sun and traffic while highlighting the cyclical beauty of the seasons.
Live
Crucially, the project was never only about one family. Neighbourhood buy-in was part of the process from the beginning: shared plantings that spill across property lines, conversations over fences, street parties that animate the block. The landscape became not just a personal retreat but a kind of community anchor, proof that private and public lives can flourish side by side.
What has emerged is a lived-in, well-loved landscape—functional for a high-traffic household, generous to its neighbours, and deeply rooted in place.
