Architecture isn't about conquering landscapes on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, a 32,170-person region where the Geographical Proximity Paradox combines urban access with wildness. Talking to them is the key. Here, dwellings are created as extensions of their surroundings, combining stone and cedar with the same craftsmanship used in longhouses by the Shíshálh.
Sechelt’s Design Principles:
Materials with Memory: Builders like Coastline Craft use salvaged barn wood, stone from Sechelt quarries, and non-toxic stains mimicking lichen hues.
Micro-Siting: Homes are oriented to follow sun paths while avoiding eagle perches and arbutus roots, often with guidance from Shíshálh knowledge keepers.
Fluid Boundaries: Retractable glass walls merge interiors with old-growth forests, while “living roofs” host native sedum and pollinators.
The Driftwood House in Halfmoon Bay exemplifies this ethos:
A 200-year-old cedar beam, salvaged from a storm-felled tree, anchors the living room.
Tide-clock systems sync LED lighting with the Salish Sea’s rhythms, reducing light pollution for marine life.
Rainwater harvested from angled roofs irrigates wildflower meadows that buffer the property from winds.
This mindset is reflected in market developments. 78% of Sunshine Coast buyers place a higher value on eco-features than square footage, according to a 2024 Royal LePage poll. Geothermal-heated 1,200-square-foot cabins are now more expensive than 3,000-square-foot suburban homes.
Although local builders are spearheading a resurgence of Indigenous-inspired architecture, the ferry provides access to Vancouver's architects. A community building in Egmont, constructed by Shíshálh, has cedar posts carved with ancestral designs and employs post-and-beam techniques that haven't changed in millennia. Even contemporary construction projects, such as Ocean's Edge Estates, require that 30 percent of their components come from within 50 kilometers.
Living here is like co-authoring the landscape. "We weave with the land—we don't build on it," says architect Lila Moreno of Sechelt.
Your sanctuary awaits, where walls frame the wild instead of fencing it out.
