“I know it’s a cliché to say that everything happens for a reason,” says family physician Milvi Tiislar, “but when it came to finding the architect for our renovation, it really rings true.”

Milvi and her husband, Peter Rosenbluth—a consultant for nonprofit environmental and international development programs—had raised their two children in a 1947 house in the Gonzales neighborhood of Victoria, British Columbia. The home had undergone several renovations before the couple purchased it, and while they loved its location, materiality, and backyard, Peter and Milvi wanted more space—specifically, an area where their preteen son and daughter would be comfortable hanging out with friends.

“When I was growing up, if you didn’t have a basement, your parents would never meet your friends because no one ever came over,” Peter says. “We wanted a space that our kids would feel was theirs.”

A basement remodel wasn’t feasible as the house sat on bedrock, so the couple started thinking about an addition: a small wing connected to the original structure that would provide a sense of privacy. Milvi also planned to use the new space for work-from-home purposes during the day, so programmatically, the design would need to serve double duty.

Milvi turned to a Facebook group she was a part of for local doctors who were also moms and put out the call for architect recommendations. Soon, one woman, also a physician, wrote back Milvi to say that her husband, Bruce Greenway, was an architect, and that his firm, Greenway Studio Architecture, had a portfolio full of residential builds and remodels.

“We looked up Bruce’s work and saw that he usually did full-scale projects,” Milvi says. “Ours was pretty small in comparison, but I think that once he heard what we wanted and saw the backyard, he liked the idea of an interesting design challenge.”

The challenge was presented by a large, mossy, metamorphic bedrock outcrop that dominates most of Peter and Milvi’s backyard. The form was close enough to the house to make construction tricky, but the family had grown to love the feature—especially the sound of the rain as it splashed on the crags—and opted against blowing it up to gain additional square footage.

“They wanted to keep the rock,” Greenway says, “so we came up with a design that treated it like an extension of the house.”

To achieve this, Greenway worked with contractor Taylor McCarthy of Frontera Homes on a post-and-beam structure with floor-to-ceiling glass walls (Milvi is a self-proclaimed “sun worshipper”) and a green roof. To make the space feel integrated with the rock—and the backyard at large—Greenway took shorn-off pieces (mixed with stone from a nearby quarry) and constructed a curving wall to back a built-in sitting area at one end of the room. A custom maple table tucks up to the bench, serving as a place for Milvi to meet virtually with her patients, or for the family to enjoy a lively evening of board games.

“They specifically asked for maple,” McCarthy notes of the table, which was made by a local carpenter. “The family likes to play games, and that wood is hard and durable. We all know that Settlers of Catan can get heated at times.”

The new addition is constructed with Douglas fir, and the team took care to source timber from within 150 miles of the home. “It was important that it wasn’t old-growth wood,” says McCarthy. “We spoke to the mill and let them know that we didn’t mind if there were knots and imperfections. That’s part of what we love about wood.”

Meticulous about details, McCarthy and Greenway worked with specialized craftspeople on each part of space. The simple lines and minimal features belie the time and effort put into everything from the radial bench to Greenway’s custom-built, lantern-like lighting fixtures. The abundance of wood and glass strikes a decidedly Northwest aesthetic, and features such as deep overhangs (designed to help regulate interior temperatures), a green roof, and a system that collects and recycles rainwater are thoughtful, sustainability-focused bonuses. And most importantly, the rock formation continues to hold pride of place in the backyard.

“When I was younger, I used to try to design the most original form,” Greenway says. “But now I find what is most meaningful to my clients—for example, this rock slope—understand it the best I can, and make that relevant to the design.”

Related Reading:

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A Seattle Family Builds a Rugged Cabin on a Remote Island for $41K

Project Credits:

Architecture: Greenway Studio Architecture / @greenway_studio_architecture

Builder: Frontera Homes / @frontera.homes

Structural Engineer: Skyline Engineering

Window Supplier: Pacific View Windows

Green Roof Supplier/Consulting: BC Green Roof

Electrician: Capson Electric

Masonry: Sea N' Stone Masonry

Metalwork: Broadwell Metal Company

Millwork Fabrication: Trestle Millwork

Custom Wood Tabletop and Shelves: Duff and Co.

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On Vancouver Island, a Family Squeezes a Serene Studio Between a Rock and a Hard Place