Starlet House photos, Modern North Vancouver home design, Canadian contemporary property, BC architecture images
Starlet House in North Vancouver, BC
post updated 16 February 2024
Architect: Gordon Hartley
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Photos by Yan Timo
17 September 2023
Starlet House, North Vancouver
West Coast Modern lists rare Richard Neutra-inspired California modern home. Starlet House is for sale in North Vancouver.
West Coast Modern is announcing today that it is listing the Starlet House, a rare Richard Neutra-inspired California modern home, for sale in North Vancouver. Heavily influenced by Neutra’s Case Study House #6, the home features simple post-and-beam construction, a sloping flat roof and large window walls that open up to a forested backyard.
“Absent from the heritage register and most lists of modernist homes, the Starlet House is like a Hollywood actress who has fled north to escape the paparazzi,” says Trent Rodney, Co-Founder at West Coast Modern. “A true Californian architectural gem hidden away in the North Vancouver hills.”
Located at 661 East Windsor Road in North Vancouver’s Princess Park neighbourhood, the 2,213-square-foot Starlet House boasts an efficient floor plan with three bedrooms and three bathrooms on an 8,712-square-foot lot. The entrance features an extra-large skylight opening and sunken planter creating an impressive approach for guests while the open-concept design and large windows make the living spaces feel intertwined and connected with nature.
The home was designed by Gordon Hartley who modelled it after Richard Neutra’s never-built Case Study House #6, which features a sloping flat roof, an impressive entrance court and expansive wall windows. The Starlet House maintains these features and adapts them to a North Vancouver context, notably through the use of local cedar and granite.
Credited with bringing Bauhaus principles to the U.S. and combining them with Southern California building practices, Richard Neutra is widely recognized as the father of desert modern architecture. He is known for his simple post-and-beam residences that have come to epitomize mid-century architecture in Los Angeles and his use of steel framing to create large window walls that blur the lines between outside and in.
A leading figure in his adoptive state, Neutra’s influence extends northward as well. Between 1946 and 1953, he gave a series of lectures at UBC that left an enduring impact on an entire generation of young architects like Arthur Erickson and Ron Thom who later took his design philosophies and adapted them to B.C.’s climate and landscape to create what would come to be known as west coast style.
Gordon Hartley was a B.C.-born architect and heritage advocate who attended the UBC School of Architecture during the same time that Neutra came to give lectures. He went on to found his own practice and design a number of residential, commercial and civic buildings across the province. The Starlet House is an example of one of his earlier works and clearly shows the impact that Neutra had on the young architect.
Based on Neutra’s unbuilt Case Study House #6, the Starlet House is a rare example of California modernism in Canada
“A true representation of mid-century California modern, the Starlet House was recently chosen to be recreated on the set of a popular U.S. TV show as the home of the main character,” continues Rodney. “Sixty-two years after she first appeared in North Vancouver, this Californian beauty is stepping back into the spotlight.”
The Starlet House is being listed for $2,495,0000. Prospective buyers are invited to contact West Coast Modern to arrange a viewing.
About West Coast Modern
West Coast Modern is Vancouver’s only real estate service specializing in selling design-led architectural homes. From mid-century classics to contemporary new builds, West Coast Modern has consistently created one-of-a-kind storytelling experiences for each work of architecture they represent. Their unique following of design-literate clientele look to them for inspiration to craft their life the West Coast Modern way.
West Coast Modern is gaining unprecedented access to buyers from around the globe who understand the value of well-designed spaces. Their proven marketing platform regularly earns coverage from top publications like Architectural Digest, Dwell, Monocle, Elle Decor, THE PLAN, designboom, Western Living, STOREYS, Montecristo, NUVO, the Globe and Mail, the North Shore News, and the Vancouver Sun.
With this proprietary program, they have successfully secured new custodians for a majority of Metro Vancouver’s most significant modern houses, such as the famed Arthur Erickson Starship House, which sold for the highest price per square foot for a historic home, and the newly completed Eaves House by McLeod Bovell, which sold for $12.1 million.
Starlet House, Gordon Hartley, 1961
Presenting Starlet House, architect Gordon Hartley’s ode to Richard Neutra’s Case Study House #6.
Recently replicated in full for a Hollywood TV series, the home’s pitched roof and timber post-and-beam language hold a cinematic allure, marrying the vivacious spirit of California modernism with a deep west-coast reverence for nature. A skylit entry court sets the stage, illuminating a pathway lined by a delicate garden planter.
Harnessing regional materials like cedar, granite, and glass, the residence masterfully adapts Neutra’s modernist ethos to the ambiance of the north shore. Indoors, vast window walls span three levels, framing a tranquil garden patio and verdant site beyond.
A seamless blend of mid-century modern and west coast sensibility, the home awaits its next custodian.
The listing will go up on MLS later today with an asking price of $2,495,000.
Photography: Yan Timo
Starlet House, North Vancouver, British Columbia images / information received 170923
Location: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Vancouver Buildings
Contemporary Vancouver Architecture
Vancouver Architecture Designs – chronological list
Vancouver Architecture Tours by e-architect
Cha Le Teahouse
Design: Leckie Studio Architecture + Design Inc.
photo : Ema Peter Photography
Cha Le Teahouse Vancouver
Capcom Headquarters
Architects: DIALOG
photo : Ema Peter Photography
CapCalm Office Space Vancouver
Gulf Islands Residence
Architects: RUFproject
photograph : Ivan Hunter
Gulf Islands Residence
Aperture Apartments, 5688 Willow Street
Design: Arno Matis Architecture
photography : Michael Elkan Photography
Aperture Apartments
Comments / photos for the Starlet House, North Vancouver, British Columbia – Architecture design by Architect Gordon Hartley in BC, Canada, page welcome.
