One SEED Architecture + Interiors

Look what just arrived at our studio!

We are so proud of this CANADIAN Green Building Award (!) for all the many layers of sustainability incorporated in Bird's Wing Passivhaus Duplex +. Head over to our website to read about all the many 'pluses' incorporated in this one.

Thanks to the brilliant team or flock involved in this one and to our forward thinking clients for their commitment to sustainability and market transformation.


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Landscape: .landscapes w/  
CPHD: Kenneth Chan
PH Certifier: Cooperative
Structural: Marta Maj  
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Certified Passive House

Get out and vote! Our Bird’s Wing Passivhaus Duplex + has been included by as an option for their new “People’s Choice” award in TWO CATEGORIES for their new Western Living People's Choice Awards for 2024. We are so excited to be included. Head over to 's IG link tree or their website to vote for One SEED in both the "ARCHITECTURE" and "ARTHUR ERICKSON MEMORIAL" categories!

Some reasons why Bird's Wing is special:
+ Certified
+ duplex w/ 2 lock-off units (4 dwelling units total) within the size of a single family home
+ accessibility for age-ing in place
+ adaptability of the home's configuration allows the units to expand or contract to suit changing needs over time.
+ chronological flexibility
+ ready for Passive House Plus certification with the addition of only 33 PV panels for 4 units!
+ holistic sustainability goes beyond energy performance. Low embodied carbon construction and healthy materials
+ vinyl free construction (red-listed)
+ affordability and density
+ it also looks pretty nice ;)

Link to vote by July 3rd: https://www.westernliving.ca/doty/wl-peoples-choice-awards/designers-of-the-year-peoples-choice-2024/ #/gallery


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Certified Passive House
DOTY nod from magazine

More washrooms at West Side Clerestory!

This washroom was designed with the teen daughters in mind. The side mounted faucets allow for deep sinks on a shallow vanity.


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washrooms at West Side Clerestory!

Matte black accents contrast the bright staggered white subway tiles, and muted grey floor tile and countertops. The white oak millwork provides ample storage in this long vanity and brings in a warmth in materials. A frosted glass panel between the toilet and free-standing tub provides a bit of privacy for this functional and sophisticated shared bathroom.


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Primary ensuite at West Side Clerestory

There are too many details to point out in this warm and minimalist ensuite, but one worth mentioning is the routed slots we created in the oak ledge that wraps around the vanity mirror for hand towels at each sink.


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West Side Clerestory primary ensuite

We used the same warm and muted tone large format terrazzo tile on the floor and walls of the ensuite for a calming palette that compliments the wood accents. The frosted glass door in the second photo leads to a private water closet.


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Primary ensuite West Side Clerestory


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Workspace at West Side Clerestory

The oak flooring wraps up the wall, highlighting the sloped vaulted ceiling, and creating a cozy nook for homework and studying.


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Family / media room at West Side Clerestory.

This first photo is one of my favourites from the whole shoot. This cozy little built-in reading nook doubles as additional seating when entertaining.


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West Side Clerestory guest bathroom.

The recessed cove lighting washes the textural trapezoid wall tile showing off the geometric pattern.


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Powder room at West Side Clerestory.

We carried the wood slat detail from the stair into the back wall of the powder room with cove lighting above to create shadows and a sense of depth. The .mccormick Mila pendants on either side of the flush mirror bring in the warmth of brushed brass which we carried into the TARA wall mount faucet in Durabrass.


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After and Before: West Side Clerestory living room.

The last image is a rendering by @, and you can see how close it is to the final built form captured by in the first image. The material palette of West Side Clerestory is inspired by light, and the richness of the finishes when they are placed in combination and bathed in different types and angles of light. Selections were also influenced by mid-century modern design, with a more minimalist approach to the colour scheme. Materials are authentic and natural, with repeating tones of airy white and blonde woods juxtaposed against the deep charcoal tones of the dark brick, beams, and windows. The use of brick cladding was a nod to the original house where we replaced colourful stonework with linear brick with an artisanal iron oxide finish. The brick, like the wood soffits, and dark beams, flows into the interior and re-appears at the new linear fireplace.


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After and Before: West Side Clerestory House back elevation.

Last post we shared the front of the house, and now the transformation at the back. As the name suggests, clerestory windows, an iconic feature of West Coast Modernism, line the new front and back elevations. The clerestory windows create a datum line, below which the house is solid and rectilinear, and above which the roof lifts upwards, floating above glass. The new roofline zigs and zags like a switch-back trail, embracing the existing split-level layout while continuing upwards to envelope the newly added storey. This climbing roofline creates striking interior volumes and vaulted ceilings throughout. The home is flooded from all sides with a natural light from the high windows, while maintaining privacy and space for artwork and furnishings on the opaque walls below.


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After and Before: West Side Clerestory House

It's hard to believe it's the same house, but it is! The design brief was to modernize an existing 1950s split-level home, elevate it architecturally, reconsidering all aspects of the home, and to incorporate an additional storey with a generous primary bedroom suite. We brought the architecture of the existing home and new addition together harmoniously, making them seem as if they have always been “whole”, with a form inspired by the mid-century era of the original home and in keeping with the scale of the Southlands neighbourhood.


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West Side Clerestory primary bedroom window seat.

Sometimes the special moments in a home come from problem solving a tricky scenario, like this generous window seat. As you can see from the section that follows, the vaulted ceiling in the living room below is actually taller than the floor level in the primary suite. The solution? A window seat with storage below. The drawers get deeper as we move to the left and the roof below slopes down, but the fronts are all aligned facing the bedroom.


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West Side Clerestory millwork door to walk-through closet.

A little photography wizardry here by to capture the wrapping millwork and the view to the seating area beyond in the mirror.


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West Side Clerestory primary bedroom.

You would have to have sweet dreams in here. The sliding door opens on to a roof deck off to the side, so as not to interrupt the views of the tree canopy.


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Hannah is having a great time putting on her shoes at in the hidden bench with closet at the entry of West Side Clerestory. Discreet, accessible, and functional.


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bench

Teen room at West Side Clerestory. The vaulted ceilings allowed enough height for us to create a loft hang-out space above the walk-in closet.


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West Side Clerestory Stairs. A split-level home with light coming from high clerestory windows = ample opportunity to create some ethereal moments with the stairs.


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Bird's Wing Passivhaus Duplex Plus wins Canadian Green Building Award for residential under 6000SF!

That is in ALL of Canada!!! What an honour!

Bird's Wing has quite the story and features too many environmental and social "pluses" to list here, but head over to the WORK section of our website for a bit of an intro to this duplex with four dwelling units within the form of a single family home and the chronological flexibility its adaptable plan affords.

HUGE shout out to our clients for their commitment to sustainability and demonstrating what healthy soft density can look like. Another huge shout out to the flock that made this happen:


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Landscape: .landscapes w/  
CPHD: Kenneth Chan
PH Certifier: Cooperative
Structural: Marta Maj  
Deconstruction
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Certified Passive House  

Delivery! SPRUCE Magazine, featuring Bird's Wing Passivhaus Duplex on the cover (!), in the mailboxes at the duplex today :)

There really is nothing like seeing a project in print! Head to to read "Praise for the Passivhaus" by Nessa Pullman on , soft density, and "designing for the future".



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Landscape: .landscapes w/  
CPHD: Kenneth Chan
PH Certifier: Cooperative
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Article: Nessa Pullman SPRUCE Magazine
Certified Passive House  

ONE SEED is a women led architecture and interior design studio. Thanks to these fabulous women for making it all possible!

Here is a kitchen where I wouldn't mind spending some quality time.


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Closed > Open > Closed. When the millwork doors of this appliance cubby fold away, they reveal a seamless continuation of the white marble backsplash and counter into the corner. It looks intentional when open or closed. Details!


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West Side Clerestory from inside-out and outside-in.


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A high contrast kitchen at West Side Clerestory where we elected to forgo upper cabinets along the outer wall to allow for an expansive corner window which extends to counter-height.


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West Side Clerestory dining and living 🖤


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Dining room light at West Side Clerestory. This sustainable light fixture is cut from a single thin veneer of plywood in concentric circles, and the result is an ethereal and organic quality that is a counterpoint to the strong straight lines of the architecture.


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The circular dining room table is the center of the action at West Side Clerestory, a pivot point between the kitchen and living, between the interior and the outdoor living area.


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