McDowell House, 1940

The McDowell House is an early example of the post-and-beam construction method, built during a generation that saw the emergence of the West Coast Modern design idiom, on the west coast of Canada. The house is nestled into a lush, natural landscape and appears to have been well-maintained in original condition. It was designed and built by the Lewis Construction Company, headed by Bob Lewis, one of the most prolific midcentury design-build practices on the south coast of British Columbia, and widely celebrated for excellence in modern post-and-beam homes.

The midcentury modernist period of the Greater Vancouver region was marked by the prevalence and popularity of the post-and-beam system of construction. What was, at the time, a simple and inexpensive way to build, this system utilized heavy timber post-and-beam structures, well-suited for the installation of expansive glazing and typically finished with readily available natural materials throughout, to create economical modernist residences that were more accessible to a broader range of homebuilders. In the 1950’s, contractors often proclaimed that they could build these houses at less cost per square foot than conventionally constructed homes.

West Vancouver was among the first municipalities to see houses built in this way, an image synonymous with midcentury architecture on the steep, rocky slopes of the North Shore. The flexibility of this structural system also lent itself well to building on what had previously been considered treacherous, unbuildable terrain. As such, this construction method quickly became, and continues to be, part of the lexicon of West Coast Modernism, used in thousands of building across British Columbia to this day.