CLOSE AD ×

Omar Gandhi

Omar Gandhi

More recently, Rabbit Snare Gorge, a cabin in Inverness, Nova Scotia, employs similar ingredients and extrapolates them even further. The verticality of the exterior’s cedar boards is emphasized by making them quite narrow and stretching them for longer lengths. To reinforce this tall effect and protect occupants from the elements, Gandhi installed a 22-foot-tall CorTen steel entry hoop. The birch plywood inside is still rough, but slightly more refined than the interior cladding for the Moore Studio. Still its texture and even smell recalls “something people have inherent memories of,” said Gandhi, making it feel comfortable.

The Float house, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, pushes the whole concept of a residential typology. It breaks up the solitary mass of most homes into four interconnected spaces, and outside it is meant to evoke the massive boulders that pop out of the ground on the site. Clad in the grayish-yellow hue of timber, volumes pop up like the headlights of a sports car, allowing in light and glowing at night.

“People are often surprised by the quirkiness of some of the projects. But it’s not that far off from the way people used architecture in the past. Maybe it’s not turned on its head, but on its side,” Gandhi said. The next step, he added, is bringing this pastoral sensibility to the city, where he is in discussions about multifamily and other urban-scale projects.

CLOSE AD ×