Modern house with large glass windows and balcony, built on a hillside among trees.

Alton Cliff House

Jason Alton approached us with a wild idea - he owned a cliff on the north arm of Okanagan Lake where he planned to build a 3 bedroom house, taking inspiration from the case-study houses of the mid-century. We took on the challenge, and designed a house on a steel structure meant to touch down lightly, leaving the existing environment intact. The house features a garage and two courtyards fronting the road, and glazed public spaces and a master bedroom opening to the lake.

 

location: lake country, bc

size: 2750sf

status: completed 2022

designed by: f2a architecture

photographer: katie huisman

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Modern house with rust-colored metal walls, white structural accents, large windows, desert landscaping with rocks and drought-tolerant plants, and a sandy road in front.
Modern house with rust-colored exterior walls, large glass windows and doors, and a white metal pergola on a sunny day.
Living room with large window, an abstract portrait painting on the wall, a potted plant with heart-shaped leaves, a wooden shelf with plants and books, and a bar area with bottles and glassware.
Modern indoor dining area with a round white table and green chairs, large glass sliding door leading to a balcony with a grill, mountain landscape view, and decorative items on a wooden shelf.
A hallway with two closed wooden doors, one on each side, and a bedroom with a bed and bedside lamp visible through the open door in the middle background.
Interior living space with large window and view of snowy mountains, including chairs, a rug, and a small table.
Living room with large glass window overlooking snowy mountains and lake, with sofa, coffee table, and colorful floor cushions.
Modern bathroom with a freestanding bathtub, glass-walled shower, wooden door, pendant light, cabinets, woven basket, and striped rug.
Two irregularly shaped mirrors mounted on a terracotta tiled wall in a modern interior space, with a view of a bright room with white cabinets, a potted cactus plant, and a glass door leading to the outdoors.
A modern indoor-outdoor living space featuring a wooden deck with white chairs, a large planter, and a sliding glass door leading to a bedroom with large windows, curtains, and simple furniture.
View of a modern balcony with a glass railing, wooden floor, and outdoor scenery of trees and rocky hillside, seen through an open door from the indoor area with potted plants.
Balcony with a black lounge chair and a small ottoman overlooking a lake and mountains in the distance.
A leafless, dead tree contrasted against a modern, rust-colored metal building with mountains and a lake in the background.
Balcony with wooden floorboards, glass railing, and sliding glass doors overlooking cloudy sky and distant mountains.
Modern house cantilevered over a cliff with large glass windows, metal railing, and supported by V-shaped stilts, surrounded by trees.
Modern house built on stilts and perched off a cliff, with trees and snow on the ground, under a partly cloudy sky.
View of a modern elevated house with a black metal exterior, supported by angled steel beams, situated on a hillside with dry grass and small shrubs in the foreground.
Illustration of a modern house built on stilts above a sloped terrain with a ramp leading up to it, and trees in the background.
Architectural drawing of a modern house on stilts with a long rectangular structure, featuring large glass windows and a flat roof, with structural supports underneath.