Architectural rendering of the Rockside Ridge pool terrace, with the tall living pavilion projecting toward Okanagan Lake beside a deeply shaded outdoor room.

House on Rockside Ridge

Rockside Ridge is about making a house on difficult ground without first making the ground easy. Only two parts of the property could take a house. The easier site sat lower, closer to the road and tucked into the trees. The clients chose the harder ground instead: a steep, boulder-strewn ridge of exposed rock and ponderosa pine above Okanagan Lake.

Architectural rendering of Rockside Ridge in Naramata, with the concrete garage and arrival level set into the rocky slope beneath the bedroom bar and glazed living pavilion.

The house makes only the ground it needs. A concrete lower level contains the garage and arrival. Above it, bedrooms and supporting rooms run with the contour in a low bar, while the main living pavilion turns ninety degrees and crosses the slope. The two parts respond differently to the same piece of ground.

Modern house with a wooden upper level, large windows, and a concrete base, surrounded by trees and rocks under a blue sky.

Most of the house stays low and straightforward so that one room can do more. Bedrooms and circulation remain under eight-foot ceilings, while the great room takes the height, exposed structure, warm timber and larger openings. The difference gives the house a clear hierarchy without making every room compete for attention.

Architectural rendering of the Rockside Ridge kitchen and dining room beneath a tall timber ceiling, with broad glazing toward the hillside and a lower window framing Okanagan Lake.

The lake is west, along with the hottest late-day sun. Rather than turn the living room into a west-facing wall of glass, broad openings look north and south along the valley. A low horizontal window takes the western view in a controlled band of water, mountain and sky, while the folded weathering-steel roof provides deep shade around the taller pavilion.

Architectural rendering of the Rockside Ridge living room, with a long fireplace wall beneath the timber roof and glazing toward the surrounding pines.

Arrival begins low in the concrete base and climbs through a long stair before opening into the taller living room. Outside, the pool and terraces make almost all the flat ground the house gets, with deep shade beside open sun. Beyond that small area of occupation, the rough ridge starts again.

Architectural rendering of the Rockside Ridge living room, with timber-lined walls, tall glazing toward the pine-covered hillside and a lower window framing Okanagan Lake.