Sound House
Presenting Sound House, an extraordinary design by Canada’s most revered architect Arthur Erickson with a 1985 addition by his protégé, Nick Milkovich.
Situated in Vancouver’s prestigious west side with a view of the city, this unpublished gem marks a defining moment in Erickson’s career, where concrete took prominence in his architectural language. Designed for an audiophile, sound was key in the conception of the home. Inside, wood, glass, and concrete embody Erickson’s signature west coast modernism, blending Japanese-inspired simplicity with local sensibilities. Double-height living spaces invite indelible natural light, while a serene courtyard anchored by a magnificent cedar deepens the connection to nature.
This previously unknown Erickson, with its balance of form and function, awaits its next custodian.
2786 W 29th Ave
Vancouver, BC
Neighbourhood
MacKenzie Heights
Designer
Arthur Erickson;
Addition designed by Nick Milkovich
Designed and Built
1965/1985
Price
$4,599,000
Specification
Mid-century Modern
Program
West Coast Modern
Floors
3 level
Rooms
5 Bed 3.5 Bath
Building
2,775 sqft
Lot
7,700 sqft
Introducing Sound House, an unpublished Arthur Erickson masterpiece crafted for sound, steeped in West Coast Modernism.
Commissioned by an audiophile and designed by Canada’s most revered architect, Sound House marks a defining moment in Erickson’s career.
It is understood as the architect’s first house to incorporate rough concrete treatment for interior walls, a technique he had previously experimented with only on the fireplace at the 1964 Smith House II. This same treatment is also evident in Erickson’s MacMillan Bloedel Building, the tallest tower at the time, constructed in the same year as Sound House.
Designed following Erickson’s formative trip to Japan in 1961, Sound House reflects the architect’s evolving design philosophy, where he became captivated by the expressive potential of a single material—“reminiscent almost, of sculpture.”*
*The Architecture of Arthur Erickson (Douglas & McIntyre Ltd., 1988)
Archival photographs of Sound House by Selwyn Pullan
Arthur Erickson
Canada’s Most Revered Architect
Arthur Erickson CC FAIA FRAIC Hon FRIBA (June 14, 1924 – May 20, 2009) was a Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied at the University of British Columbia and, in 1950, received his B.Arch. (Honours) from McGill University. He is known as Canada's most influential architect and was the only Canadian architect to win the American Institute of Architects AIA Gold Medal (1986). When told of Erickson's award, Philip Johnson said, "Arthur Erickson is by far the greatest architect in Canada, and he may be the greatest on this continent."
He is known for winning the Simon Fraser University competition together with Geoffrey Massey in 1963, which launched his career; the Canadian Pavilion at the International Trade Fair in Tokyo (1965); the Museum of Anthropology (1976); the Robson Square and Law Courts (1979). Erickson also designed houses that are now considered seminal works, such as the Smith House II, which he designed for Marion and Gordon Smith; the Eppich Houses; the Graham House, which is now demolished. His personal home on Vancouver’s West Side, now called the Erickson Garden, is open to the public and managed by the Arthur Erickson Foundation.
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