Here’s what to expect at the 2026 edition of West Coast Modern Week, July 7 to 12
A home tour of five West Vancouver residences, a film screening of E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea, and much more on offer for architecture buffs
(Left to right) Wanda Dalla Costa (photo courtesy of Arizona State University), E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea
The West Vancouver Art Museum presents West Coast Modern Week at various venues from July 7 to 12
GREAT ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN is a response to, and a reflection of, its surroundings. Consider how effectively a Palmer & Krisel home in Palm Springs keeps its occupants cool in the withering desert heat while maximizing the indoor-outdoor living that the arid climate makes possible year-round.
The West Coast Modern style, in contrast, reflects a modernist approach to living in a rainforest. The style, which has its roots in the 1930s, was developed in coastal cities including Seattle, Portland, and West Vancouver.
In recognition of that architectural heritage, the West Vancouver Art Museum has announced the return of its annual West Coast Modern Week, with walking tours, a film screening, and more planned from July 7 to 12.
The week begins July 7 with a launch event at the museum. A series of walking tours, Municipal Modern, runs on July 7, 9, and 12, examining the development of Ambleside’s civic core during the 1960s and 1970s. Led by guides from North Shore Heritage and the museum, the tours consider how modernist ideas were adapted to a compact urban context and include access to municipal buildings such as West Vancouver Municipal Hall and Firehall No. 1.
On July 9, a screening of E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea takes place at the Kay Meek Arts Centre. The film examines the work of Eileen Gray and the contested history of the 1929 house on the Côte d’Azur that she built with her then-lover Jean Badovici, which was later subject to what Gray decried as “vandalism” by Le Corbusier.
A talk by Wanda Dalla Costa follows on July 10 at The Polygon Gallery. Titled A Living Repository: Architecture, Culture, and the Expansion of Modernism, the lecture addresses the relationship between architecture, cultural knowledge, and Indigenous placekeeping frameworks.
This year’s edition of the West Coast Modern Home Tour includes the B.C. Binning House, designed in 1941 by local art legend Bertram Charles Binning himself, with C.E. Ned Pratt and R.A.D. Berwick. Often cited as an early example of modern residential design in Western Canada, the house is organized around a rectilinear plan that incorporates subtle angular variations and emphasizes visual connections to the surrounding landscape.
Constructed during the Second World War, the project made use of locally available materials and relatively simple building methods. The approximately 1,600-square-foot layout includes two bedrooms, a studio, and a large living area opening onto a garden designed by landscape architect Cornelia Oberlander.
Subsequent additions—such as a garage in 1966 and later interior updates—have altered the house incrementally, while restoration work in recent years has focused on preserving original features, including Binning’s murals.
Other homes on the tour include the Fells House by Ron Thom (1959), the Fuldauer House by Erickson-Massey Architects (1966), the Stephanie Edwards Residence by Bob Lewis (1967), and the recently completed Rockview House by ABC Architecture Building Culture.
For more details on West Coast Modern Week, including the July 11 after party and the July 12 afternoon concert with jazz guitarist Josh Roberts, see the West Vancouver Art Museum website. 
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