The Greenwood House: About as original as it gets

Semmens and Simpson were a Vancouver-based architecture firm active from 1949 to 1956. The firm was responsible for many landmark modernist buildings, including the Marwell Building (1953), the Vancouver Public Library (1956–57), and a Department of Interest favourite, Hycroft Towers (1952). While the firm is primarily known for its larger-scale projects, they did design a handful of single residential detached homes.

I had the pleasure of getting to visit one of their rare residential commissions, the Greenwood House, built in 1954 in West Vancouver. The home is almost completely original, with only a few minor changes over the past 70 years. It was truly a pleasure to get to see a home in such pristine original condition, a rare occurrence these days.

The home is grand without being ostentatious. At 3000 square feet, the home is larger than many of its mid-century counterparts, but it feels rightly sized for the lot. You enter into a large split-level room with a dining room to your right and up the stairs straight ahead, a large living room with a rocky fireplace, and a view of downtown Vancouver in the distance. The wood-clad interior walls glow a rich reddish brown as the winter sun beams in through the vast expanse of southeast-facing windows.

Downstairs, I find a large rec room with another rocky fireplace, pool table, and pinball machine. It’s almost as if I have time travelled to a bygone era, one that manages to avoid a clichéd representation often seen in movies depicting the 1950s.. I’m particularly happy to see the Robin’s Egg blue vanity set still intact, the brass door chime with sailboat motif, and the period-correct light fixtures all where they should be.

As I walk around the back of the house, I see that the lot backs onto a tree-covered ravine with a creek that runs through it. A vast porch that cantilevers off the back of the house overlooks this marvellous scenery.

The home, now with its third owner, is about to undergo its first renovation. A few things will change as these older homes need to be brought up to the standard of modern living, but it’s nice to know that for the most part, this Semmens and Simpson from 1954 will remain mostly the same and continue its life for another 70 years.

Thank you again to Jamie for showing us around and sharing this lovely home with us.