Pearl Block

Project Details

Project Description

This project was selected as an Honor winner in the 2024 Residential Architect Design Awards, Multifamily Housing category.

“This one definitely stood out for me. My starting point was the plan, because the plan looks so simple and yet it's so rigorous. And when you look at it in section and obviously in 3D, it’s so rich in what they were able to achieve, and with a restrained material palette, which is always a big win for me.” —Juror Roselie Enriquez Ledda

Working with an unusual triangular site in Victoria, British Columbia, the architects devised this Brutalist-style compact cluster of six rowhouses in a staggered and angled formation in order to give each residence a street view while also enhancing privacy for both the Pearl Block residents and neighboring households. To that end, the project team implemented additional strategies: The exterior is clad in chunky stucco walls that jut out to function like horse blinders, editing views in and out; modest-sized bedroom windows are oriented away from neighboring homes; small balconies on the south elevation are low and screened with railings to limit views between the rowhouses; and each home has its own roof deck with high parapets to allow children to play and residents to relax, grill, and eat in privacy.

Inside each home, the palette is simple and minimal. The stairs feature oversized plywood stringers that double as guardrails, bathrooms are beige to minimize upkeep while injecting some warmth, walls and kitchen cabinetry are white, save for contrasting black accents in select spots such as on the stove backsplash and the balcony-door wall. One playful element is an exposed unpainted steel column, meant to serve as an impromptu magnetic surface for displaying children’s art.

PROJECT CREDITS:
Project Name: Pearl Block
Architect: D’Arcy Jones Architects
Location: Victoria, BC

Photo Credit: Ema Peter