1963 Graham residence seen as ‘significant piece of architecture’
Jennifer Saltman
Province
The current owner of this West Vancouver house built in 1963 by Arthur Erickson on an ‘impossible site’ has applied for a demolition permit because it is in disrepair. — NORTH SHORE NEWS
The architectural marvel that Arthur Erickson has credited with kick-starting his career is in danger of being torn down.
“The David Graham house in 1963 launched my reputation as the architect you went to when you had an impossible site,” Erickson is quoted as saying in 1988’s The Architecture of Arthur Erickson.
The current owner of the house, Shiraz Lalji, has applied to the District of West Vancouver for a demolition permit because the house, which is unoccupied, has not been maintained and is in disrepair.
“I just think that whoever is making the decision should consider it very carefully,” Erickson told the North Shore News. “Of course, I would be very disappointed if it were taken down. I think it was a very fine example of a certain period in architectural history.”
The site for the house is a rock cliff dropping 12 metres from the arrival level down a sheer cliff to a rock bench over the ocean.
Many thought the lot could not be built on, but Erickson overcame the problem with a multi-storey house that descends in levels.
The wood-and-glass residence temporarily housed stars Warren Beatty and Julie Christie during the filming of McCabe and Mrs. Miller.
“It fits in with the landscape and it’s just beautiful — the setting is just gorgeous,” said Heritage West Vancouver president Carolanne Reynolds, who toured the house last week. “It is just an incredible place to be in.”
Reynolds said there isn’t much rot in the house and the shell is intact, so it could be renovated or restored.
The house is currently listed as a building of primary cultural and historic importance on one of the district’s heritage inventories, although that designation does not protect the house from demolition.
The property, valued at almost $3.5 million, was bought by Lalji in September 1988 for $925,000.
Lalji also owns — along with
his brothers Amin and Mansoor — a $524,000 condo on West 2nd Street in North Vancouver‘s
Lower Lonsdale area.
Calls to Lalji at his office at Larco Investments Ltd. — a large West Vancouver real-estate firm — were not returned yesterday.
The company owns Park Royal Shopping Centre and Whistler Village Centre, at the base of Blackcomb Mountain.
Reynolds said her heritage group, along with the district’s heritage planner, an architect with the Arthur Erickson Foundation and the chair of the district’s heritage working group, will meet with Lalji’s builder today.
They also plan to meet with a builder of their own to see what can be done to save the house.
“They’ve got to be impressed with how valuable and how significant this piece of architecture is,” Reynolds said. “It would be such a shame to lose it.”
© The Vancouver Province 2007
