Lean-to House

Blind Bay,
Nova Scotia

Completed
2013
Lean-to House
Location

Blind Bay,
Nova Scotia

Completed
2013

This two-and-a-half bedroom house sits on a hillside overlooking the sea to the south.  This passive solar house, with its transverse mono-pitch roof, is an archetypal lean-to.  Its glazed south façade and concrete floor (with hydronic heating) receives the sun, while its thick service wall protects it from the north wind.

It sits on a series of transverse concrete fin foundations on 12 ft (3.7 m) centres, which align with plywood box roof trusses and 4 ft back shear walls, channelling wind loads into the ground. This rational structural module corresponds to a series of places which support the rituals of dwelling: gathering, dining, sleeping, bathing, and working.

Awards
2013 Nova Scotia Lieutenant Governor’s Medal of Excellence

Design Team
Brian MacKay-Lyons
Talbot Sweetapple
Diana Carl
David Bourque

Photography
William Green

Structural Engineer
ABLE Engineering Services Inc.

Builder
Special Projects Limited