Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

In Vancouver, a Cedar-Clad Masterwork by Arthur Erickson

In Vancouver, a Cedar-Clad Masterwork by Arthur Erickson

Lifted on stilts above a steep site, the sharp-cornered Catton House recalls the form of a spaceship.

Canada’s most renowned architect and urban planner, Arthur Erickson prioritized a relationship with the landscape in his projects spanning residential, commercial, and civic work. One of his most notable designs, Robson Square, weaves together government buildings and public landscape in downtown Vancouver, turning the conventional high-rise on its side when it was completed in 1983. Decades earlier, he took a similarly daring approach to the Catton House, which rises from a challenging cliffside lot in West Vancouver and is now on offer for $4,798,000, or approximately $3,830,000 in U.S. currency.



Commissioned in 1968 and completed in 1970, the Catton House-also known as the Starship House for its futuristic shape-is a four-bedroom, two-bathroom residence clad in cedar. A carport leads to the home’s uppermost level.

The home was commissioned in 1968 by Jean "Tuffy" Catton and her husband, Don, who were close friends of Erickson while he studied architecture at McGill University. In Arthur Erickson: An Architect’s Life, scholar and biographer David Stouck details the painful process that eventually birthed the three-story Catton House. Erickson quickly blew through the couple’s original $40,000 budget, straining their relationship, but delivered what the architect would call "a work of art…which reads like a piece of sculpture carved from a single block of wood."



Diagonal strips of Western red cedar clad the exterior, emphasizing its angles. Stone steps lead the way down the precipitous site.

Says listing agent Trent Rodney of realty company West Coast Modern, "Of all the fabulous homes I’ve had the privilege of selling in the past two years, this one is my favorite. There was immediate reaction as soon as I uploaded photos of the house onto our Instagram page."



Trees provide welcome shade on the expansive deck that wraps the main floor.

Perched on a rock bluff high above the Salish Sea, the angular home-which Rodney has dubbed the Starship House-seems poised for take-off. A curved driveway leads to a covered carport and the main entrance at the rear of the building. A broad skylight follows the angle the roof and floods the entrance with light, coaxing the visitor down the stairs to the main level. Here, south- and west-facing windows and glass doors connect to a wraparound deck that provides a dazzling panorama of ocean, sky, trees, and sun.



While the main floor houses the communal areas and primary bedroom, the upper floor holds three additional bedrooms. The lower floor holds a modest studio and utility room.

The kitchen, living room, and dining area flow freely throughout the main level, which also includes a primary bedroom which opens onto a north-facing deck. The most striking feature is perhaps the angular stone fireplace, which mimics the home’s rhomboid-inspired profile.



A skylight illuminates the stairwell leading from the foyer down to the main level.



The triangular fireplace, backed by a wall of glass, echoes the form of the home.

A second flight of stairs from the entrance leads to three upstairs bedrooms, one of which was originally designed as living space for the Cattons’ children.



Two of the upstairs bedrooms lead onto private decks.

This is the second Erickson listing for Rodney’s agency in 2021. "Vancouver has flown a bit under the radar for midcentury modern enthusiasts," he says. "But we're receiving expressions of interest from all over the world. Our challenge is finding enough inventory to keep up with demand."



It took over two years for Arthur Erickson to design and build this West Vancouver home for two long-time friends back in 1968.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×