The First-Ever West Coast Modern House Has Hit the Market in West Van

At the start of the pandemic one of our fave pastimes was scouring the MLS and finding houses by iconic masters for sale, wherever they might be. We found a Neutra in Brentwood, a Lautner in Laurel Canyon and even an iconic Greene & Greene in Pasadena. And closer to home we drooled over a killer Arthur Erickson on Point Grey Road. And while the name Bertram Charles Binning may not have the immediate star power as the above luminaries, he was the centre of one of the greatest explosions of artistic output the West has ever experienced.

If you’ve come across him it’s most likely for his geometrically influenced art, which is represented in museums all across the country. But he was also fascinated with architecture (he brought the aforementioned Richard Neutra to Vancouver to lecture in 1949 and 1953) and it was in this vein that he collaborated with Thompson, Berwick and Pratt to build his own residence in the then wilds of West Vancouver in 1941, almost a full decade before the concept of modernism took hold in the province.

I’ve actually been to the house before: about 15 years ago the structure was in a sad state of disrepair but the owner, The Land Conservancy (Binning’s widow, Jessie, left them the property), organized a tour of the somewhat decrepit building with the hope of raising awareness (and funds) to save the building. The Conservancy ultimately sold the house to a North Shore realtor for just over $2,000,00 with the promise that he cared deeply about the property and that he would do renos in keeping with said passion.

Which brings us to today: said renos are long done and the property in West Van’s very swank Altamont, has hit the market at a cool $5,250,000, which is incredibly expensive for a 2-bedroom house, 2,184 sq/ft house and also one of the lowest priced properties in Altamont, where a more maximal vein of modernism likes to flourish.

There’s a tonne to love about the property. For starters it’s the only privately owned National Historic Site in the country, which makes for a great cocktail party opener (although one assumes that the great limitations that come with such a designation come with their own price). And Binning’s restored murals are striking and if I’m being ruthlessly pragmatic, are a bit of a steal given how even a very small Binning sold for almost $70,000 at Heffel in 2024.

The rest of the art is just meh—if there’s ever a house that cries out for a Shadbolt and a Gordon Smith (two of Binning’s pals), this is it. And the reno makes it far more livable than a lot of slavishly restored houses by the greats where they keep some insanely old stove or fridge as if the architect wasn’t simply buying the latest 1950s tech when they built these houses.

And a lot of people would try to “fix” the tiny galley kitchen, but here you get an updated sense of what Binning, Pratt and Berwick were going for in 1941. The front facade is awesomely understated and private and the view of the water is suitably befitting what was one of the first homes in the neighbourhood.

The one downside? The patio set. It’s like faithfully restoring a vintage Ferrari and then hanging fuzzy dice from the rear view mirror. It appears to be from the Home Depot, circa when grey was big (this house goes deep on the greys) and while I’m not throwing any shade on the Home Depot for $5.25 million you can go out and source some flipping period correct Brown Jordan.But as far as problems go, it’s imminently fixable and while you’re at it you can easily do something with that Weber BBQ that’s weirdly just sitting there as well. Small sacrifice for a piece of architectural history.

You can see the whole listing here.