The Forest Nook is nested in the rainforest of the Sunshine Coast, BC
"In some ways the strongest attributes of the house are probably the outside spaces,” says Court. The original cedar deck was replaced with Kebony decking that wraps around a century-old cherry tree. A pair of Andy rockers from Mamagreen face an ottoman by Kenneth Cobonpue. The accordion doors are a NanaWall SL-60 system that allows the main room of the guesthouse to open completely to the deck.
The house meets LBC standards for net-positive water, on-site water treatment, and net-positive energy. To create a closed-loop system, potable water (blue) is collected via the rooftop and stored in an underground fiberglass cistern that holds 10,000 gallons. “In three weeks in January this year, we captured enough water for six months of use in the house,” says Todd. That rainwater is purified via a filtration system in the lower-level mechanical room before reaching faucets. A septic tank outfitted with a textile filter scrubs gray water and blackwater (orange) for non-potable use, such as irrigation. An array of 42 solar panels supplies 105 percent of the property’s power needs (yellow), and two wall-mounted batteries store backup power.
"It was our job to hold on to the spirit of these buildings. They worked so well with the site and the views, so the project was really about exercising restraint,” says architect Brian Court. In the guesthouse, Gulassa wired a wisteria branch preserved from the property into a chandelier. The armchair is by Jens Risom and the windows are by Unilux.