Maurice and Elizabeth Owen House - 130 McGill Rd
This home was constructed in 1971 by the owner and several sub-contractors, including members of the Owen family, as a new home for Maurice and Elizabeth and their youngest daughter, Ann-Marie. This residence was designed by the owner's eldest son, Trevor Owen, who had recently graduated from the UBC School of Architecture. The main floor area was 1642 sq. ft. with a full unfinished basement, incorporating a garage accessed from the lower level on the north side of the house.
The design of the home was based on the architect's appreciation of Frank Lloyd Wright's work. Although the budget was modest, it incorporates some of Wright's signature features such as low roof slopes and horizontal lines that help to relate the structure to the horizontal ground below.
Deep roof overhangs help to accent the horizontality. The inverted slope of the fascias give some refinement to the roof edge especially when combined with a slight upward flare of the roof slope near the end of the overhangs. The original roofing was resawn cedar shakes.
The horizontal resawn tongue and groove cedar siding includes a mid-height, wider cedar band feature that is located just below the window sills. This helps to highlight the continuity of sill height around the building, except for the glass doors and lower sills in the living room. Along with the roof fascia, another heavier fascia at the bottom of the cedar siding reinforces the horizontal theme.
The carport was purposely located at right angles to the street so that most of the view of the front of the house did not include the typical vehicle garage doors.
The extensive use of glass on the north side of the house capitalizes on the magnificent views of the mountains and river valleys below.
Granite rock from the Mount Robson area was used for the fireplace facing on the main floor, and wide natural wood, light grain, clear cedar wall valences were installed in most of the rooms at ceiling level.
The entire ceiling of the living room is finished with 1x8 grooved clear cedar panelling.
Source: Kamloops Heritage Commission