A laneway bisects the site, a condition that would typically divide the property into two disconnected halves. At Hendry Compound, it prompts a different approach.
Hendry Compound brings these properties into a cohesive landscape experience within a quiet North Vancouver neighbourhood. Designed and built over five years, the landscape architecture on this site serves as the connective framework, aligning scale, circulation, and the relationship between architecture, daily life, and the surrounding community.
Continuity is established through material, planting, and spatial organization. Movement across each lot is clear, views are deliberately framed, and program is distributed with intent. The laneway remains a public element, but its edges are carefully shaped, allowing it to sit more comfortably within the overall composition.
Planting is fundamental to the project and operates as a primary design medium. It defines enclosure, guides movement, and establishes atmosphere. Layered compositions of grasses, shrubs, and perennials create depth and seasonal variation while reinforcing spatial hierarchy. Planting mediates transitions between public and private space, softening edges and forming a gradient of experience across the site. Species are selected for resilience, biodiversity, and reduced irrigation, allowing the landscape to mature and evolve over time. Seasonal change is embraced, with planting designed to offer shifting textures, colour, and movement throughout the year, reinforcing a dynamic and immersive landscape experience. Careful placement and repetition of species strengthen visual continuity across the divided site and create a cohesive identity that becomes more legible as the landscape matures.
A defining feature is a custom seam welded steel fence system that extends across both properties. Composed of folded elements that shift in height, alignment, and permeability, it operates as both infrastructure and spatial framework. It defines outdoor rooms and establishes gradients of privacy without relying on opacity. Paired with clipped hedging and looser planting, it creates a dialogue between precision and growth.
Privacy is carefully calibrated. At the edges, planting remains open and porous, fostering visual connection and a sense of shared neighbourhood space. Moving inward, layers of vegetation and enclosure create increasingly intimate environments, allowing the landscape to feel both generous and protected.
The landscape unfolds as interconnected outdoor rooms that support daily life and social use. At the main residence, terraces extend interior spaces outward, anchored by a pergola, dining area, and a restrained central lawn. A water feature introduces movement and sound, marking transitions and creating a contemplative focal point that enhances sensory experience and reinforces moments of pause within the landscape.
Across the laneway, the pool house landscape is more social. Folding doors open to an entertainment terrace with a larger cantilevered ‘seamless’ steel pergola, fire pit lounge, and gym terrace. Planting shifts subtly to a more drought tolerant palette, reinforcing a relaxed character while maintaining continuity. These areas are designed for durability and low maintenance while still providing richness in texture, seasonal expression, and spatial softness.
Material restraint is central to the project. A limited palette of durable materials ensures clarity and longevity, while precise detailing reinforces the landscape’s architectural role. Planting softens structure and supports ecological performance, integrating built and planted elements into a cohesive whole and contributing to long term environmental resilience.
Although private, the project engages its surroundings. The boulevard is treated as an extension of the landscape, planted with meadow grasses and perennials that contribute to the streetscape. The laneway remains open and inviting, encouraging informal interaction and shared stewardship while enhancing the experience of the public realm and strengthening neighbourhood character. Hendry Compound demonstrates how landscape architecture can unify complex residential conditions through clarity, restraint, and thoughtful design, transforming a divided site into a cohesive and enduring environment that continues to strengthen over time and through seasonal change.
Architect: Garret Cord Werner Architecture; Interiors: HB Design; General Contractor: Meister Construction Ltd.; Landscaping Contractor: Trillium Landscaping Inc.; Metal Fabrication (Pergolas, Fence Panels, Gates): Metal and Wood Products; Pool Contractor: Aloha Pools Ltd.; Photographer: Ema Peter Photography
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