캐나다 알버타주 남부 도시 캘거리의 코트야드 하우스(Courtyard House)

한정된 자연의 틀에서 프라이버시를 추구하고 적절히 빛을 내부로 끌어들인 집

캐나다 캘거리의 주택 단지 내에 들어선 코트야드 하우스는 알맞은 볼륨감을 통해 거주자의 프라이버시와 자연 경관을 부드럽게 유입시킨 개성 강한 집이다. 3,962㎡ 면적에 2개 층 규모로 지어진 주택은 반듯한 직방형 매스를 절개하여 안정적인 볼륨감을 부여하고, 자연적으로 조성된 경사진 뜰과 중정, 파티오를 통해 공간에 한층 여유로움을 부여하고 있다. 햇빛의 각도에 따라 입면의 경사진 각도를 달리한 덕에 외부에서 바라보이는 주택의 모습은 사뭇 개성적인 특성을 자아낸다. 깊숙이 안쪽으로 절개되어 들어간 목재 입면을 통해 상부층 내부 공간으로 적절히 빛의 유입이 조절되며 프라이버시를 보호할 수 있다. 절개된 입면에 마련된 다양한 창을 통해 내부에서는 외부 풍경이 프레임으로 걸쳐 들어온다. 주택 상부층은 주인침실과 아이방, 서재와 사회적 공간이 자리하며 뒷마당과 앞마당이 여유롭게 바라다 보인다.

 사뭇 육중하리만큼 무게감 있는 직방형 볼륨은 마치 중력을 거스르는 듯 떠있는 듯한 분위기를 연출한다. 견고한 노출콘크리트 프레임 위에 떠다니는 기하학적 나무 상자가 독특한 구성을 자아낸다. 그 아래 공간 영역은 거실과 주방, 식당이 자리하며 남북측의 뜰과 파티오를 향해 적절히 열려있다. 건축가는 주택 외부 환경이 북쪽의 숲과 동쪽과 서쪽의 교외 지역에 면해 있다는 특성을 활용해 정의하는 콘크리트 월을 강조함으로써 공간의 다이내믹한 구성을 구현해 내었다. 저층부 주방과 계단실과 면한 곳에는 거북이 중정이 마련되어 상부에서 자연스러운 빛의 유입을 이끌어내고 있다.

 설계를 맡은 The Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative는 건축이 세상을 실질적으로 풍요롭게 할 수 있다고 믿기 때문에 그들의 작업을 이어간다. 건축가는 건축 작업을 진행하면서 다양한 스케일과 물리적, 개념적 맥락을 중시하고 항상 환경에 적응할 수 있는 밀도 있는 디자인을 녹여내고자 한다. ANN

Marc Boutin Lead Architect

Design team_ Marc Boutin, Yves Poitras, Brett Sanderson

자료_ The Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative,

Photos by Bruce Edward – Yellow Camera Photography, Tim Smith

Designed for a couple in Calgary, the client asked for a home that would cater to their need for privacy, and their two tortoises. The responding logic is two-fold: (1) the burying of social program as a means to provide privacy with the resultant framing of nature; and, (2) a hovering volume characterized by a perimeter poché wall that structures privacy and animates the interior via the filtration of light.

In the first instance, a perimeter is defined via the woods on the north of the site and its suburban condition on the east and west. This boundary is further emphasized through the concrete walls at ground level which define the social spaces.

In the second instance, this burrowed space is juxtaposed by the suspension of a wood-clad volume that has been sculpted to condition light and fold it into the space below. Through the calibration and sculpting of a series of apertures, natural light is invited to make its way through the house, projecting down through interconnected spaces including a central tortoise court, illuminating the space within. These apertures, tuned to enhance views of the landscape, also serve to animate the movement of the sun in the sky and define privacy on the upper level.

From both the front and back, the house presents itself as a floating box – its monolithic object-hood defined both geometrically and by way of material application, a wooden mass hovering above a concrete frame. While the upper volume displays a syncopated fenestration, the lower body offers only a sliver of light emanating from above the front courtyard’s 7’ retaining wall. In both cases, whether it is that of the calibrated openings that line the top, or the illuminated ceiling space below, both datums participate in the orchestrated screening of visual information.

The upper level planning is designed as two 'addresses' accessed from the central circulation that wraps around the tortoise enclosure. The first address is the master suite, with the bedroom situated along the private backyard and the more public office space facing the front yard. Similarly, the children's address is organized with the bedrooms overlooking the backyard and their play space facing the front.

The courtyards that comprise the house are created as a field of landscapes - both natural and psychological. And while their perimeters are defined relative to one another in plan, in essence, the tortoise court serves as the vertical connection between the private realm of the floating box above, and the sweeping landscape that slides underneath. It is the linchpin of two halves.

As the tortoises are left to occupy this resulting negative space, the final courtyard serves as a counterpoint for reflection in understanding the house’s existence in the broader community. Assuredly introverted. Content. Quiet, and contributing to the broader communal courtyard from its position on the periphery.

We practice architecture because we believe in its capacity to materially enrich the world. We work at multiple scales and in a wide variety of physical and conceptual contexts, but always with the objective of developing robust and resilient designs that can adapt to their environments as they evolve. We commit to designing holistically because we believe the world can only be understood as a whole; consequently, we focus on a creating a density of meaning that emerges through the synthesis of art, architecture, urban design, and landscape design. Collaboration is central to our identity: it resonates as both a philosophy that structures our design process, as well as a practice for engaging the broader ecology of spaces, places and actions that together define the contemporary built environment. We use this comprehensive approach to work with clients, sub-consultants, contractors, and many others to develop and deliver architectural, urban, and landscape design excellence. The ability to collaborate with a wide variety of clients and co-creators has helped us build a diverse portfolio of work that has been recognized with national and international awards, competition wins, exhibitions, and publications. Some recent projects include: a variety of custom residences in Alberta and British Columbia; Poppy Plaza, part of the Memorial Drive Landscape of Memory; the Edmonton Valley Zoo Children’s Precinct; the Calgary Public Building Restoration; the Civic District Public Realm Strategy; the John Fry Sports Park Pavilion; and the 1st Street SW Underpass Enhancement. Together with our clients, we embrace the rich potential in architectural practice for the discovery of innovation and the manifestation of intention – the creation of value in all its dimensions. ANN

We practice architecture because we believe in its capacity to materially enrich the world.

We work at multiple scales and in a wide variety of physical and conceptual contexts, but always with the objective of developing robust and resilient designs that can adapt to their environments as they evolve.

We commit to designing holistically because we believe the world can only be understood as a whole; consequently, we focus on a creating a density of meaning that emerges through the synthesis of art, architecture, urban design, and landscape design.

Collaboration is central to our identity: it resonates as both a philosophy that structures our design process, as well as a practice for engaging the broader ecology of spaces, places and actions that together define the contemporary built environment. We use this comprehensive approach to work with clients, sub-consultants, contractors, and many others to develop and deliver architectural, urban, and landscape design excellence.

The ability to collaborate with a wide variety of clients and co-creators has helped us build a diverse portfolio of work that has been recognized with national and international awards, competition wins, exhibitions, and publications. Some recent projects include: a variety of custom residences in Alberta and British Columbia; Poppy Plaza, part of the Memorial Drive Landscape of Memory; the Edmonton Valley Zoo Children’s Precinct; the Calgary Public Building Restoration; the Civic District Public Realm Strategy; the John Fry Sports Park Pavilion; and the 1st Street SW Underpass Enhancement. Together with our clients, we embrace the rich potential in architectural practice for the discovery of innovation and the manifestation of intention – the creation of value in all its dimensions.

Marc studied environmental design, architecture, and architectural history at the University of Manitoba, the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Calgary. He complemented these studies with sculpture studios at the Ontario College of Art and the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. In 1997 he joined the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, teaching architecture and urban design studios. Marc was the Canadian Prix de Rome Winner in 2002, the Director of the Architecture Program from 2006-2010, elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Art in 2013 and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 2014.

>>Marc Boutin  Education: BEnvD, BArch, MA, Designation: Architect, AAA, FRAIC, RCA, Principal

Marc counts himself fortunate to have explored and created architecture in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Rome and Barcelona. In particular, lessons from Rome and Barcelona, cities with a rich design tradition, have instilled in Marc both an understanding of the value of design and the fortitude to advance architecture towards enriching people’s lives, creating meaningful spaces and cities that are culturally relevant and socially generous. In particular, the experience of living and designing in these cities gave Marc the evidence that the very best architecture has the capacity for cultural, social, economic, and ecological resonance.

Lead Architect: Marc Boutin, Design team: Marc Boutin, Yves Poitras, Brett Sanderson, Design Office: The Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative, Client: Undisclosed, Project Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Project Use: Residential, Project Area: 3962m2, Project Year Finish: 2019, Photographer: (1) Bruce Edward – Yellow Camera Photography, (2) Tim Smith