atone gee Spica Re NATURAL FORMS tect’s incorporate castle- rch LOOK CAREFULLY enough at some of the many palatial homes dotting the North Shore landscape and you will find extraordinary modern-day castles nestled in among the more mundane architectural statements. Architect John Kay has designed approximately 25 homes con- structed in North and West Van- couver over the past few years, in- corporating castle forms. Kay’s work is based on architectural giant Frank Lloyd Wright’s con- cept of Organic Architecture. As much of Wright’s work was patterned after forms found in nature, Kay designs structures that blend with their surroundings; uses a controlling leitmotif to coordi- nate all design elements; and uses natural colors and materials both inside and out. In 1972 Kay visited the citadel of Fougeres in Brittany. The trip proved to be pivotal in determining Kay's personal vision of architec- tural design application. ‘‘It was built in about 1100. The thing that attracted me to it was the plethora of architectural forms. What struck me about it was the very disparate elements combined. It’s usually a recipe for visual anarchy, but the color of the natural mate- rial was the same —- a warm grey stone. I came to. the conclusion that a monolithic application of color was the key to its success,’’ Kay said. Kay’s leitmotif is found in color and in West Vancouver the color is “Cha a NORTH VAN FABRICLAND, Capttano Mall 201 5 . 935 Marine Or. po —_ (Up from Totem Pole) 986-4519 By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter grey, to match the predominance of mountain granite in the area. Favored materials include in- digenous woods and sand-blasted concrete. Light, shape and color are in- terplayed with the natural settings, typically characterized by steep sloping property, irregular and broken terrain and receding planes. The effect is to bring about an unobtrusive presence. Kay’s dramatic homes favor cylindrical shapes. Said Kay: “Trees are nature’s cylinders. The cylinders in the homes bring out the trees in the landscape. Cylinders also produce a beautiful intensification of color as the sur- face curves into the shade.”’ Open louvres on many of his designs are analogous to the sun filtering through forest branches, he says. ‘‘The architectural equivalent is the louvred roof. It introduces movement to the building.” Kay’s first modern-day castle on the North Shore was built in West Vancouver in 1979. He estimates he spent at least 500 hours on the drawing board to design the home. ABBOTSFORD SURREY No. 360-3033 immelSt. 19730 - 104 Ave. 852-1196 588-1768 (Closed Sun. & Holidays) COLGHRS USED COQUITLAM RICHMOND 25€2 Bares Hwy. 7971 Alderbridge Way 461-4842 270-7767 29 - Wednesday, July 6, 1988 - North Shore News is hubb y enjoying sex? PAGE 32 orth Shore homes ents " NEWS photo Tom Burley ARCHITECT John Kay stands in front of the garage and main entrance of one of the West Vancouver homes he has designed. Kay’s original North Shore homes incorporate design elements traditionally found in European castles. Every home designed represents several hundreds of hours of work. The influence of castles has resulted in a long series of houses projecting images of strength, permanence and deliberate outline. The structures vary in square footage from several thousand square feet to as much as 7,000 square feet of residential space. 3 oe. SDAY