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, and sweet fuck all on Craigslist.

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(via) Montreal-based firm Robitaille.Curtis just completed this beautiful, modern retreat on a densely wooded former ski slope for a small family with children.

At an elevation of 2,435 feet above sea level, the site is among the highest residential building lots in the Laurentians and Lanaudière regions. From this elevation, surrounded by a dense forest of spruce, maple, beech and birch trees, the chalet commands 100-mile panoramic views over beautiful Lac Archambault.

To maintain the natural topography of the steep mountainside and to minimizes the footprint of construction, the house was built on 8” x 8” western red cedar pilotis. Elevating the house allows snow and spring run-off to flow freely beneath the structure. In spring and summer, a forest floor of native ferns and moss extends uninterrupted beneath the structure.

The windows are magnetic, especially the 27ft long window that runs the length of the main room, complete with a bench storage system that running parallel underneath it. But really there are windows everywhere, and each one is sized and shaped appropriately to serve the purpose of each room and the vistas they reveal. We’d take our version of this house – complete with Hundson’s Bay Company blanket – in the south Okanagan, on a slope overlooking the eastern shore of Skaha Lake. Photos courtesy v2com.