Vancouver’s Mid-Century Modern Renaissance: Visionaries Crafting Timeless Homes
In Vancouver, where the Pacific’s mist weaves through cedar forests and rain drums a steady rhythm, Mid-Century Modern (MCM) architecture is more than a style—it’s a dialogue with the land. Born in the post-war glow of the 1940s, West Coast Modernism, Vancouver’s take on MCM, married clean lines, open spaces, and walls of glass to the city’s rugged shores and lush landscapes. Pioneers like Arthur Erickson and Fred Hollingsworth built homes that seemed to breathe with the rainforest, their flat roofs and post-and-beam frames embracing the damp, temperate pulse of Climate Zone 5. Today, as glass towers rise and the housing crisis presses, a new generation of architects and builders is reviving this legacy, not as a museum piece but as a living, sustainable vision. At Simon Green Works, we’re not just witnesses to this renaissance—we’re part of it, collaborating on renovations and now crafting new MCM builds that honor heritage while defying the elements. Here, we tell the stories of five firms—The Hollingsworth Group, McLeod Bovell, Blue Sky Architecture, MA+HG Architects, and Vibe Design Build—whose MCM projects illuminate Vancouver’s soul, each a testament to the style’s enduring power.
The Hollingsworth Group: Sculpting MCM Majesty
Russell Hollingsworth carries the torch of his father, Fred, a West Coast Modernism icon, crafting residences that feel like they’ve grown from Vancouver’s granite cliffs. The Hollingsworth Group specializes in elite homes that channel MCM’s post-and-beam elegance, weaving natural stone and expansive glass into designs that balance grandeur with intimacy. Their approach is a dance of luxury and landscape, where courtyards inspired by Japanese Zen gardens meet the rugged Pacific shore, creating spaces that feel both timeless and deeply rooted in place.
Their masterpiece, the residence at 3085 Point Grey Rd for Chip Wilson, is a waterfront hymn to MCM. Valued at $35.2 million, this home sprawls along the coast, its glass walls framing the ocean’s restless tides. Post-and-beam construction, a hallmark of MCM, supports a minimalist interior warmed by natural wood, echoing Fred Hollingsworth’s Neoteric homes. The design’s genius lies in its integration with the granite outcrops, making the house feel like an extension of the shore. In Vancouver’s humid, rainy climate, robust materials like TPO membranes ensure durability, a practical nod beneath the opulence. This residence is a beacon of MCM’s ability to marry extravagance with nature’s raw beauty, crafted for a titan by a firm that redefines luxury.
McLeod Bovell: Staging MCM Drama on Steep Slopes
McLeod Bovell doesn’t build houses—they stage life. Since 2008, their 16-member team has transformed Vancouver’s cliffs and slopes into cinematic canvases, reimagining MCM’s open plans with daring cantilevers and lightwells that capture the city’s wild heart. Their specialty is scenographic design, where concrete and timber frames evoke MCM’s material honesty while navigating the seismic tremors and relentless rains of Climate Zone 5. Each home is a performance, framing views like a director’s lens, blending heritage with modern resilience.
Liminal House, perched in West Vancouver, is their magnum opus. This MCM-inspired residence, lauded by Architizer A+Awards, juts out over a steep site with a cantilever that defies gravity, its glass walls embracing marine traffic and sea vistas. Lightwells carve light through the structure, creating an open, airy flow that channels MCM’s ethos of indoor-outdoor unity. The concrete and timber palette, paired with energy-efficient systems, ensures the home thrives in Vancouver’s wet winters, a testament to the firm’s ability to marry drama with durability. Liminal House isn’t just a home; it’s a stage where life unfolds against the Pacific’s vast backdrop, proving MCM’s timeless allure.
Blue Sky Architecture: Reviving MCM’s Urban Soul
In the heart of Vancouver, Blue Sky Architecture, led by Bo Helliwell and Kim Smith, is breathing new life into MCM’s urban legacy. Their West Vancouver-based practice specializes in renovations and new builds that capture the style’s warmth—think clerestory windows spilling light onto cedar beams, evoking the 1950s’ optimism. They preserve MCM’s simplicity while weaving in sustainable technologies, ensuring homes endure the city’s 1200 mm of annual rainfall and high humidity.
Their Condo Renovation in the Electra Building, a 620-square-foot MCM gem in downtown Vancouver, is a love letter to urban living. Transformed from a dim, cramped space, this condo now radiates with vibrant colors and strategic lighting, its open layout maximizing flow in a compact footprint. Custom millwork, echoing MCM’s clean lines, pairs with moisture-resistant finishes to defy Vancouver’s damp climate. Clerestory windows, a nod to the style’s heritage, flood the space with light, creating a sense of expanse. Blue Sky’s work here proves that MCM can thrive in the city’s tight spaces, offering a sanctuary that blends heritage with modern comfort for Vancouver’s urbanites.
MA+HG Architects: MCM Meets Net Zero Ambition
Marianne Amodio’s MA+HG Architects is rewriting MCM for a sustainable future, crafting homes that marry minimalism with Vancouver’s 2030 net-zero goals. Founded in 2009, the firm specializes in innovative housing, from micro-units to Net Zero residences, using mass timber and passive solar strategies to evoke MCM’s open, light-filled ethos. Their designs, honored with the Arthur Erickson Award, prioritize livability and environmental responsibility, making MCM a blueprint for the city’s eco-conscious evolution.
The Fluevog Residence in East Vancouver is their boldest statement. This Net Zero MCM home, an 11-storey mass timber tower, bursts with vibrant finishes that echo the style’s playful spirit. Expansive glazing floods open spaces with light, while the compact layout maximizes urban density, a nod to Vancouver’s space constraints. Energy-efficient systems, including passive solar design, slash carbon emissions, aligning with the city’s green ambitions. The residence’s mass timber frame, a sustainable twist on MCM’s post-and-beam roots, ensures seismic resilience (0.46g, per BC Building Code). Fluevog is a vibrant, forward-thinking home that proves MCM can lead the charge toward a sustainable urban future.
Vibe Design Build: Restoring MCM’s Timeless Heart
Vibe Design Build is Vancouver’s quiet alchemist, transforming aging homes into MCM-inspired havens with a builder’s precision and an artist’s soul. Specializing in custom renovations, they preserve the style’s flat roofs, large windows, and open layouts while weaving in modern comforts like smart home systems and waterproofing to battle the city’s relentless rains. Their collaborative approach ensures every project honors the client’s vision, rooted in MCM’s warm, inviting ethos.
Their renovation of a 1920s home in Mission, BC, is a masterclass in revival. This residence, reborn with open layouts and natural wood accents, channels MCM’s airy charm through restored clerestory windows and expansive glass. The exterior, fortified with moisture-resistant materials, stands strong against Vancouver’s wet winters, while smart home features add a contemporary edge. Vibe’s meticulous craftsmanship preserves the home’s historic soul—beams whispering of another era—while ensuring it thrives in the modern world. This project is a bridge between past and present, a testament to MCM’s enduring resonance.
Simon Green Works: Building the Future of MCM
At Simon Green Works, we’re not just admirers of Vancouver’s MCM renaissance—we’re active players, expanding our expertise from renovations to new MCM builds. Our team crafts custom homes that channel the style’s open, nature-integrated spirit, using post-and-beam frames, expansive glass, and sustainable materials like mass timber and TPO membranes. Designed to withstand Vancouver’s 1200 mm rainfall and seismic risks (0.46g acceleration), our new builds blend heritage with net-zero readiness, aligning with the city’s Greenest City Action Plan. From concept to completion, we deliver MCM homes that honor the past while embracing a sustainable future, ensuring every beam and window tells a story of resilience and beauty.
Vancouver’s MCM in a Changing World
This renaissance thrives against Vancouver’s unique backdrop. The city’s wet climate demands robust moisture management, with firms like Blue Sky and Vibe using TPO membranes and vapor barriers to protect MCM’s open designs. Seismic codes require sturdy bracing, a challenge McLeod Bovell and MA+HG tackle with engineered precision. Heritage bylaws in Kitsilano and Shaughnessy, navigated by Blue Sky, preserve MCM’s aesthetic, while urban density pushes MA+HG toward compact, sustainable homes. The Hollingsworth Group flourishes on expansive waterfronts, crafting luxury that defies the elements. These firms, and our own new MCM builds at Simon Green Works, are shaping a city where heritage and innovation dance in harmony, crafting homes that sing with Vancouver’s wild, rainy soul.
Why Simon Green Works?
Simon Green Works is at the forefront of Vancouver’s MCM revival, partnering with visionary firms and crafting new MCM homes that blend heritage, sustainability, and resilience. Our building science expertise ensures your project thrives in the city’s challenging climate, from design to permit to completion. Ready to build or restore your MCM dream? Contact us to create a home that echoes Vancouver’s timeless beauty.
Sources
This article draws on insights from “Russell Hollingsworth Is, Essentially, Vancouver’s Best Architect” by CEO.CA (CEO.CA), McLeod Bovell Modern Houses Media Page (McLeod Bovell), “Condo Renovation | Modern Architecture Renovation” by Blue Sky Architecture (Blue Sky Architecture), MA+HG Architects About Us (MA+HG Architects), “Vancouver Custom Home Builders & Designers” by Vibe Design Build (Vibe Design Build), “Best 15 Architects, Architecture Firms, and posts on X highlighting McLeod Bovell’s Liminal House.