House on Rockside Ridge

When our clients first brought us to their steeply sloping site above Naramata, we were immediately struck by its raw character: exposed bedrock, ponderosa pines, scattered boulders, and sweeping views of Okanagan Lake to the west. It was a landscape with its own quiet power, and our challenge was to design a home that could belong here without diminishing it.

We resisted the common practice in the region of blasting and filling hillsides to create flat building pads. Instead, we worked with the slope as we found it. The lower level of the house is nestled into the bedrock, revealing itself discreetly to the north as little more than a garage door and an entry. Above, the house stretches out as a long rectangle that parallels the terrain, containing the private rooms and service spaces.

The living room, however, became the moment where we allowed the architecture to step forward. Cantilevered over the slope, it is sheltered by a folded plane of weathering steel that continues up into the roof. This rusted, angular surface shades the west façade from the harsh evening sun and gives the home its most sculptural expression.

Our clients asked for a house that was calm, modern, minimal, and welcoming. They love the outdoors and wanted their home to open directly to the land. To the south, the living space extends into an intimate terrace with a small pool, sauna, and outdoor kitchen, encouraging a lifestyle shaped by fresh air and views.

Inside, we worked with a palette of white oak, concrete floors, vancouver island marble, and a continuous hemlock ceiling to create a sense of warmth and casual comfort. The house is compact at 2,900 square feet, but highly functional and carefully organized. Its exterior—concrete, stucco, and weathering steel—was chosen for durability and to harmonize with the ridge’s earthy colors.

One of the home’s most striking details is a wide horizontal window across the west façade, framing lake and mountain vistas while limiting heat gain through an automated blind. In all, the house balances restraint and sculptural expression: a quiet bar of bedrooms and service spaces, paired with a bold folded plane that defines the living room and connects the home to the drama of its setting.

For us, House on Rockside Ridge is about listening closely to the land and allowing architecture to settle lightly into it. The result is a primary residence that feels at once private and open, sculptural and grounded—rooted in the ridge, yet reaching out toward the sky.

Project Info

Type: Residential
Location: Naramata, British Columbia
Structural: Elemental Structural Engineers
Construction: Red Stag Contracting
Notes:

Rockside Ridge completed construction in Fall 2025.

The pool patio area is a natural extension of both the main living space and the covered outdoor dining room.
The hybrid wood steel trusses create a large clear span and allow for large views to both sides of the room.
North and South views are expansive, while West views are carefully framed and detailed to mitigate evening sun.
The building steps with the topography allowing a single car garage to appear out of the rocks.
The long bar of smaller spaces reaches across the site to run parallel with the mountains across the lake.
Exterior finishes running into the room as well as the extension of glass above the fireplace accentuate the building's conceptual basis.