Promising refuge from the harsh climate of Nova Scotia, the Seabright Residence encourages design powered by the natural equilibrium.

Drawing from the Canadian province’s wood-building heritage and gaining its name from its community, the 92-sq-m Seabright Residence entailed an exercise in efficiency – both of light and sight lines – to ensure a sense of freedom in space and movement. Its minimalistic look calls to mind a gallery, putting emphasis on the outward environs. We speak with architect Peter Braithwaite, who founded his eponymous studio in Halifax with the vision of a practice marrying design and construction, about the wider thinking around the project.

The Seabright Residence is situated in Seabright, Nova Scotia, a community with a population just over 500.

Part of biophilic design is creating spaces that encourage people to engage with nature. How does the Seabright Residence do that?

PETER BRAITHWAITE: Much of the early schematic design work for the Seabright Residence explored finding connections of haptic programmatic spaces to natural features and elements outside the building. These elements included visual, tactile and sonic connections to the environment. For example: exploring how the dappled light that casts through the site trees could amplify the haptic quality of gathering spaces, or how the calming babbling sound of the adjacent brook might bring tranquillity to a space used for reading and writing.

What steps can designers take to generate spaces that prioritize residents’ health and wellbeing?

We find that extraordinary benefits can be gained through designing buildings that highlight and retain the natural elements of the existing site prior to construction. Just think: many plants clean and filter site water, bacteria decompose wastes, insects act to pollinate and enable food production and tree roots act to stabilize the soil. Retaining the site’s natural ecosystem enables built structures to enjoy the ecosystem services provided by the natural equilibrium.

The architects sought to diminish the threshold between interior and exterior, to amplify the natural beauty of the surroundings.

How do the natural surroundings influence the home’s distribution of spaces?

The home’s programmatic layout was derived directly from the natural features found within the site. Spaces were carefully and iteratively placed to connect the programmatic functions to the environs. The internal gathering areas were positioned in a way that connected them to the proposed outdoor gathering spaces. This way the threshold between interior and exterior – or natural and artificial – could be diminished. It brings the natural beauty of the site into the building both visually and sonically.

What should residential designers do to pursue wood construction sustainably?

Our firm has a primary focus on wood construction methods and sees great value in the sustainable potential of wood products and assemblies. The vast majority of the wood products our firm uses, for both structure and cladding, is locally sourced from mills close to our projects. We ensure that the local wood lots we support are managed ethically and sustainably. With the continued proliferation of mass timber products within our industry, we feel the future of sustainable construction will be found in the use of these products, rather than the current industry dependence on steel and concrete.

The Seabright Residence will be featured in our forthcoming book, The Futureproof Home: Design for Conscious Living.