How to describe the experience of revelation when the stucco comes off an old house? It’s like when the optician gets your prescription just right, and then what you are looking at finally makes sense. It’s like finding something you lost a long time ago, and the site of it brings on a wave of nostalgia, of emotion. It’s the restoration of harmony, proportions and dignity. Sometimes it’s just easy on the eyes and the result is simply a clarification. Other times, like in the case of the 1890 E.M.N. Woods House in New Westminster, designed by architects Charles Crow and Samuel Maclure, it’s like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, and we get to witness the subtlety and preciousness of honest design and craftsmanship.

Shout out to Areva Living, the brave, inspired developers and to MB Environmental, a demolition and abatement company with a true sensitivity for heritage. It’s a delight working with you!