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A Dialogue of Lineage: The Fells House

Ron Thom × D'Arcy Jones

CURATED BY ADDITION.AGENCY

THE CURATION

The Fells House is a West Coast Modernist landmark originally designed by Ron Thom in 1959 and brought into the present through D'Arcy Jones Architects’ reverent 2025 continuation. Executed with a level of detail so quiet and refined, the threshold between historic structure and modern intervention completely dissolves, providing a quiet backdrop where past and present architecture exist in continuous conversation.

To activate this historic space, ADDITION curated Dialogue of Lineage, treating the house as a living canvas and placing contemporary art, collectible design, and historical masterworks within its walls. The historical weight of the residence is anchored by foundational works from Painters Eleven founder Harold Barling Town (1924–1990), alongside modern masters Maxwell Bates (1906–1980), Herbert Siebner (1925–2003), and Ron Stonier (1933–2001), whose retrospective was celebrated at the West Vancouver Art Museum in 2019. The selection expands through varied West Coast perspectives, placing bronze-cast cars by Marcus Bowcott, architectural charcoal and oil pastels by Bill Baker, and brutalist steel sculptures by Ben McLeod alongside vivid gestural abstractions from the estate of Geoff Rees (1930–2018).

Early works by Douglas Coupland and text-based pieces by Ben Skinner give way to Jennifer Latour’s celebrated photographs of intricate, Calder-esque plant assemblages. An international perspective brings together Claudia Cuesta, recognized by former VAG Chief Curator Daina Augaitis for uniting the human body with minimalist sculpture, and Camila Rodrigo, whose hard-edge abstractions utilize custom pigments sourced directly from the Chilean and Peruvian coastlines. Completing the interior narrative, collectible design works by Jeff Martin Joinery sit alongside reclaimed Pacific Northwest ceramics and the Extruded series by BC Achievement Award recipient Tyler James Goin. Atmospheric sculptural lighting by Canadian-Dutch studio OS ▲ OOS (Oskar Peet and Sophie Mensen) is paired with the porcelain ellipse sconce by Meg Hübert, recipient of the 2026 Western Living Design 25 Award for Product Design and People's Choice Award.

Through custom interior design, art advisory, and spatial storytelling for private residences and progressive brands, ADDITION shows how art, design, and architecture come together to reflect and amplify the identity of those who inhabit them. Dialogue of Lineage at Fells House demonstrates this philosophy in action, respecting the home's architectural integrity while bringing art, craft, and spatial design into an active living context.

View the Curated Works

Living room with black leather lounge chairs, wood coffee table, fireplace, large houseplant, abstract artwork on wall, and a window showing greenery outside.
Exterior view of a modern building with wooden and brick walls, surrounded by greenery and trees under a clear blue sky.

THE HOUSE

Designed in 1958 by Ron Thom, Fells House is a composed study in West Coast modernism. The residence is organized as horizontal wood volumes anchored by vertical masonry elements, with waist-height strip glazing pinwheeling around these solid masses.

Cedar cladding, deep overhangs and restrained detailing mediate light and proportion, embedding the structure within granite and forest. The architecture privileges continuity, scale and material discipline over gesture.

Fells House remains defined by its relationship to site and structure — a residence grounded in proportion and context.

THE RESTORATION

In collaboration with D’Arcy Jones Architects

The recent work focused on structural repair, material continuity and calibrated modernization. Deteriorated cladding and assemblies were renewed to preserve the original character and proportional clarity of the house.

Alterations introduced through a 1966 addition were recalibrated to align with Thom’s horizontal wood volumes and vertical masonry anchors. A new low-slung bedroom wing was introduced as a deferential addition, separated from the original structure to maintain hierarchy and proportional balance across the site.

The separation establishes a clear spatial threshold between volumes, allowing light and landscape to mediate the relationship between old and new. A planted courtyard reinforces this continuity, framing granite, cedar and glazing within a cohesive architectural language.

Original masonry elements, including the grey carport wall and sculptural wood-burning fireplace, were repaired and repointed. These vertical anchors continue to organize the composition, while extended glazing and restored cedar planes register shifting light throughout the day.

West Coast Modern League: Fells House, 1959/2025

A modern house tucked among lush green foliage, with a wood exterior and black-framed window visible. Rocks and plants are in the foreground.
Modern wooden house with large windows, surrounded by lush green trees and plants, on a gravel driveway under a partly cloudy sky.
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A room with a concrete wall, a framed portrait of a woman wearing a pink top, a wooden chair with a distressed painted finish, and a white cabinet in the background, with a small ceiling light.
A minimalist modern interior space with light-colored terrazzo flooring, white walls, and a gray textured wall on the right. There is a small framed artwork on the back wall and recessed ceiling lights.
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A wooden bookshelf with various decorative items, books, and artwork. The top shelf includes books and a light green sculpture, with a yellow toy car and stacked smaller cars in the middle. The second shelf features a painted portrait of a man, a sma
A modern house with large windows and wood siding, surrounded by landscaped garden with a small tree, ferns, and rock mulch.
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Interior view of a room with large windows overlooking green trees, featuring modern furniture including black chairs, a round table with books, a decorative vase with yellow flowers, and a standing lamp with a spherical light. The ceiling has wooden
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Interior of a modern house featuring a brick fireplace, large green potted plant, and framed artwork on the wall, with doorways leading to an outdoor patio.
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Living room corner with a black leather chair, a wooden coffee table with books, a vase of yellow flowers, a framed abstract painting of a horse, sea, and celestial bodies, and a wall-mounted light fixture.
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A wooden deck extending from a modern house built into a rocky hillside, with a view of trees and rocks outside, and a sculpture on a stand in the background.
View from a modern balcony with wooden flooring and glass railing overlooking trees and a multi-story building.
An outdoor scene with tall trees, a rocky hillside, and a wooden deck. There is a sculpture of a blue vintage car mounted on a wooden post and a glass railing on the deck.
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A modern kitchen with large windows showing green trees outside, a wooden table with a decorative vase of flowers, and kitchen appliances.
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Living room with large windows showing green trees outside, wooden ceiling and floor, a dining table with chairs, a black lounge chair, a potted plant, and a round pendant light.
Interior view of a modern house with a wooden ceiling, white walls, and artwork on the wall. A large window lets natural light into the space.
Modern house with wooden deck and large glass sliding doors, surrounded by trees and natural landscape.
A large moss-covered rock next to a glass railing with a forest of tall trees in the background.
View of a small rock garden with a variety of greenery, trees, and a wooden fence in the background, seen from underneath a wooden overhang.