With our city now so laughably unaffordable, thousands of Vancouverites are stuck imagining wonderful homes instead of living in them. Spaced is a record of our minds wandering the world of architecture and design, up and away from the unrewarding realities of shoebox condos, dark basement suites, sweet f~ck all on Craigslist and three levels of government that couldn’t give a damn.

(via) Designed by Bezau, Austria-based firm Innauer-Matt Architekten, this striking retreat stands above a tiny hamlet and looks out at the Alps from the mountain plateau of Tschengla. Simply dubbed the ‘House in Tschengla’, it was built to instil a sense of calm in its inhabitants (a family of townies looking for a quick and accessible escape from the sturm und drang).

The simple structure, primarily made of wood, sits on a concrete foundation that is levelled on a steep slope; its silhouette harkening back to the old school Austrian farmhouses of the area. Dominating the main floor of the house is an open plan living space that is anchored by a long table and a panoramic view of the jagged peaks in the distance. The skylit second-storey is kitted out with bedrooms, an office, a small den and a tiny library, some of which are afforded peekaboo vistas.

If it could uplifted from its mountain fastness, moved across the Atlantic (and the continent) and set down somewhere closer to home, I might want to flip it over the Strait to Vancouver Island and squeeze it into an acreage somewhere on the Malahat Drive between Victoria and Mill Bay.

All images by Adolf Bereuter