© 2024 SJC Media.
The space is surrounded by forests, reflecting ponds, and a stream. Deer, herons and bears make a stop at the property.
On Groveland Road in West Vancouver, there is a three-storey amalgam of glass, metal and chrome, notable for its curved white metal structure. It’s a masterpiece of ’70s modernism created by one of Canada’s most iconic architects, Arthur Erickson (and (For Liam Neeson fans, it also served as a glass mansion owned by a drug cartel leader in the 2019 action film Cold Pursuit). It’s been on the market lately for $12. 8 million.
The apartment, called Eppich House II, is named after the couple who commissioned it: Hugo Eppich, a business magnate, and his wife Brigitte, who in 1978 were to build a house for their developing family. Erickson had already designed Eppich Maison I, the personal apartment of Hugo’s dual brother, Helmut. Hugo and Brigitte were captivated by Erickson’s modernist aesthetic, so they approached him to build them their own house.
Erickson considered Eppich House II to be his ultimate all-round painting because he had complete freedom in the design of the house, adding much of the furniture. The Eppich had only one requirement: that Erickson place a window in each space. it is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows; Even the laundry room has a tall and narrow one. Hugo then turned to Ebco Industries, his paint-on-metal, electroplating, and furniture companies, to produce custom fabrics for the home.
Monica Feldman, the youngest of the Eppuches, 22 when her family moved into space in 1988; She lived there for the next four years before moving in with her current husband. “What I love most about the space is the way Arthur manages to bring in the outdoors,” he recalls.
The design is surrounded by forests, reflecting ponds and a stream, blending with the floor-to-ceiling glass design. Through the windows of the house, Feldman observed ducks, herons, raccoons and some bears roaming his property. “I used his phone to check and take a picture of the condition of a deer in our yard, and one time Dad saw a deer walking down the path that led to the front door,” he says.
Liam Neeson wasn’t the only celebrity to spend time in the space: Shirley MacLaine and actor Adam Arkin came to have lunch with the Eppichs. In 2021, brands working with actress and singer Dove Cameron saw Eppich House II on Instagram and asked if she might simply use the space as a set for Cameron’s “We Belong” music video. “The crew started filming at 7 a. m. and didn’t leave until 3 a. m. the next day,” Feldman says. The space has also been used as a music video. prepared for Sarah McLachlan.
For years, the home was the site of Thanksgiving dinners, pool parties and Easter egg hunts. Feldman and her younger sister Sonia would place eggs all over the property—tucking them underneath blackberry leaves or rocks near a pond—and let their children search for them. “It’s hilarious because they’d never find them. We had them hike through the property to find them,” Feldman says.
Hugo and Brigitte lived in the house until 2018. After they moved out, between 2021 and 2023, the family upgraded the plumbing and landscaping, replaced all the carpets and lighting fixtures, and repainted all the walls with brighter colours, among other efforts to modernize the home.
“We’ve been looking at how to conserve it, but it’s not easy,” Feldman says. “It would have been great to have it in the circle of relatives because my father built it. We let a component of ourselves pass by, but it’s only a component of life,” he says.
© 2024 SJC Media.