Madrona House
On the Market
Madrona House By Barry Downs & Burgers Architecture, 1967/2020
Gleneagles, West Vancouver
Photography by James Han
Story by Nadine Cuttingham
A secluded woodland sanctuary reimagined for modern life, Madrona House by Barry Downs and Burgers Architecture offers a rare synthesis of West Coast heritage, privacy, and refined family living in West Vancouver.
The Introduction
In a real estate culture that often equates value with excess, Madrona House stands as a quiet, confident corrective - a definitive statement on the power of restraint. Long before he defined Vancouver’s skyline with icons like Canada Place, Downs was refining his vision in the stillness of its coastal slopes. It was here in these residential experiments that he first mastered the art of living with nature, developing the intuitive site sensitivity that would later inform his celebrated civic works.
Now artfully reconsidered by the owners and Burgers Architecture, the home invites both deep observation and active engagement with its setting. The design balances the raw beauty of the West Coast with the warmth and vitality of contemporary family life.
Madrona House is quiet and respectful. Its character is drawn directly from the landscape, mirroring the calm of the forest and the solidity of the coast. It offers something increasingly rare: a home that feels deeply rooted, intrinsically valuable, and serenely assured.
Context and Arrival
The approach to Madrona House marks a distinct transition—leaving the city behind and entering the coveted Gleneagles neighbourhood of West Vancouver, where the air carries the scent of salt and cedar. This winding stretch of waterfront has long attracted Canada’s creative minds: a calm pocket where global innovators, film pioneers, and tech leaders can operate with focus and privacy.
The neighbourhood is defined by a shared ethos of stewardship and a deep respect for the landscape. In a place where architecture defers to the trees, Madrona House stands as a pure expression of this philosophy.
The house reveals itself slowly, framed by a pair of towering Douglas firs that anchor the entry. Arrival culminates in a dramatic entry bridge spanning the native terrain, lifting the visitor from the forest floor to the front door. This moment of elevation emphasizes the home’s low-slung form and thin roof profile, designed to sit beneath the canopy and defer to the scale of the forest.
As one crosses the bridge, the noise of the outside world falls away, replaced by a profound stillness. Downs used the rocky, forested site to create total immersion, orienting the structure toward sweeping mountain vistas while maintaining complete privacy. The arrival sequence - from open street, across the bridge, and into the sheltered light of the entry- acts as a decompression chamber, gently washing away the urgency of the city.
Interiors & Living
Inside, the home unfolds as a respectful yet dynamic dialogue between two generations of West Coast modernism. The original 1960s geometry—defined by generous double-height volumes—has been preserved, while Burgers Architecture has reinterpreted the spaces for the rhythms of modern family life.
The 2020 renovation is a study in restraint. Rather than erasing the past, the owners reached out directly to Barry Downs to ensure a process of careful renewal. The result is a refined West Coast modern sensibility that retains the soul of 1967 while operating with contemporary ease. Crisp walls lend a gallery-like clarity that allows artwork to breathe, while the original cedar-clad feature wall grounds the living room in warmth and material honesty.
Here, the fireplace acts as a primal anchor, set against wood and soaring expanses of glazing—a composition that captures the West Coast modern ethos by holding the intimacy of the hearth in perfect harmony with the landscape.
This sense of grounding is reinforced through a continuity of materials. Timber detailing appears to pass effortlessly through the glass, dissolving the boundary between interior and exterior and drawing the forest deep into the fabric of the home.
“Our goal was to honour the original design while evolving it for today’s modern family,” explain Scott and Tanya, the home’s current custodians. “We wanted to respect the soul of the house and preserve its unique beauty.”
Experience & Custodianship
Stepping into the main living spaces, the sensation is one of suspension. The room floats within the tree canopy, dissolving boundaries between shelter and forest.
This connection is framed, quite literally, by the home’s wooden window profiles, grounding the expanses of glass in the warmth of the West Coast vernacular. The architecture captures the landscape, turning the view into a living element of the interior.
The experience is also tactile. Mid-century tones have been complemented with basaltina tiles and a walnut-clad staircase which catch shifting patterns of sun and shadow filtering through the firs. The ever-changing play of light animates the interiors, filling the home with rhythm and quiet delight.
The kitchen and dining areas - once isolated service spaces - have been reimagined as the heart of the home. Anchored by an expansive 12-foot island, the space supports both daily rituals and effortless gathering, proving that high design can also be deeply livable.
The layout is intuitive, vertically separating public tree-top living above from the private retreat below. Bedrooms are tucked into the lower level, all oriented toward the secluded pool terrace.
The rear grounds form a vibrant setting for connection, with a pool and hot tub bordered by the forest edge. While the water reflects sky and trees with mirror-like calm, the terrace is designed for life - anchoring large summer gatherings as friends and family spill effortlessly between indoors and out.
Madrona House represents a rare opportunity to inherit a distinct West Coast lifestyle and step into a lineage of modernism carefully stewarded for more than half a century.
“We chose this house for its beauty, its style, and its history,” the owners note. “Everything else felt soulless by comparison—this home had character and warmth.”
Now ready for its next chapter, Madrona House offers its future custodian a life defined by privacy, connection, and serenity.
Home Facts
Name: Madrona House
Address: 6510 Madrona Cres, West Vancouver, V7W 2J8
Neighbourhood: Gleneagles, West Vancouver
Designer / Architect: Barry Downs & Fred Hollingsworth
Renovation Architect: Cedric Burgers, Burgers Architecture
Price: $4,950,000
Year Completed [Barry Downs & Fred Hollingsworth]: 1967
Renovation [Burgers Architecture]: 2020
Interior Living: Open-concept living with partial double-height living room and strong indoor–outdoor flow
Landscape Architect: Ron Rule
Levels: 2
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 4
Interior: 3662 sqft
Exterior: 1200 sqft
Structural / Engineering Highlights:
- Built into the natural contours of the land
- Large cantilevered roof overhangs
- Floor-to-ceiling glazing and corner windows supporting West Coast Modern principles
Landscape and Planning:
- Landscaped grounds integrated with mature cedar forest
- Private outdoor living areas including pool, spa, fire pit, and garden zones
- Seamless indoor–outdoor circulation
Key Materials:
- Cedar paneling and cedar siding
- Minimalist walnut built-ins and wide-step walnut staircase
- Silestone Calacatta marble countertops (suede finish)
- Oversized basaltina tiles with underfloor heating
- Zinc-covered fireplace
- Brushed nickel and chrome fixtures
- 100% Wool carpet installed 2025; Biurritt Bros Carpet and Flooring
Views / Orientation:
- Oriented toward surrounding cedar trees; back side of Black Mountain (Cypress Mountain)
- Close proximity to Whytecliff Park, Baden Powell Trail, and multiple beaches
- Strong forest outlooks emphasizing privacy and immersion in nature
Features:
- Lutron lighting system
- Kolbe sliding door systems
- Custom millwork throughout
- Heated pool and spa with automated cover
- Fire pit and outdoor entertaining areas
- ChargePoint Level 2 EV charger
- Daikin central heat pump HVAC (heating and cooling)
- Integrated ceiling and outdoor speakers
- Zinc-covered gas fireplace
- Instantaneous hot water with recirculation
- Bosch appliances: induction stove top, double wall oven, and integrated dishwasher
- Integrated Fisher & Paykel dish-drawer (in pantry)
- Sub-Zero refrigerator
- Kitchen feature soft close drawers
- Napoleon barbecue (built-in) with Corian countertops
Awards / Recognition:
- Featured in Vancouver Sun
- Featured in Western Living
- Recognized example of sensitively modernized West Coast Modern architecture
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