Situated atop a hill in Purcell?s Cove, Float is surrounded by exposed bedrock and the remnants of a dense forest that was devastated by fire.
PROJECT Float, Halifax, Nova Scotia
ARCHITECT Omar Gandhi Architect Inc.
TEXT Benny Kwok
PHOTOS Doublespace Photography, unless otherwise noted
The geological features found in Nova Scotia?along with sweeping Atlantic Ocean and inland views?have long inspired bold contemporary architecture along the Maritime Coast. A particularly dramatic landscape is found in the Purcell?s Cove backlands, near Halifax. Located in the southwest portion of the North West Arm, Purcell?s Cove is a place with a mysterious aura, filled with jagged fields of rocky outcrops and subcrops, remnants of a glacial basin that existed centuries ago. With its hills and valleys hugging inland lakes, the backlands is a popular destination for mountain bikers, who whiz around gigantic sheets of broken-off rock?called bedrock floats?that have tumbled down the cove. The living room enjoys a panoramic view of an inland lake.
Float, a private residence designed by local architect Omar Gandhi, MRAIC, takes its inspiration from these loose pieces of rock. The 232-square-metre building is placed ?off the beaten path,? says Gandhi. It is half a kilometre inland, on a hilltop clearing surrounded by rock outcrops. A decade ago, a forest fire roared through the adjacent area, leaving a ghostly trail through what used to be a densely treed landscape, leading to the hilltop. The ...