The Nest

“The Nest” emerged as both metaphor and design strategy—an intimate shelter shaped by circular movement and a deep connection to place. Two rotated geometric volumes create a compact yet refined three-level living experience. Prefabrication was essential: each component was precisely engineered for transport by truck, barge, and helicopter, turning the build into a coordinated three-dimensional puzzle balancing design intent and logistics.”

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Perched atop Keats Island’s highest elevation, The Nest is an off-grid retreat designed to seamlessly integrate with its Pacific Northwest surroundings. Tucked within a dense evergreen canopy, this visionary residence embraces the island’s raw beauty—rugged topography and unobstructed panoramas of Howe Sound—while seang a new benchmark for sustainable, prefabricated design in remote locations.

The home is conceived as an elegant interplay of two geometric volumes, rotated against one another to create a vertical, three-level living experience. Compact in footprint yet expansive in spatial perception, The Nest maximizes its small building area while maintaining a light touch on the land. Sustainability is integral to the project’s ethos. Clad in Western red cedar, The Nest will age gracefully, further blending into the surrounding forest with time. The off-grid residence operates entirely on solar power, with an incinerating toilet and a rainwater collection and filtration system ensuring self-sufficiency. Thoughkul engineering and the strategic use of mass timber eliminated the need for structural steel and optimized the foundation, reducing concrete footings and excavation in order to protect the delicate terrain. Given the site’s extreme inaccessibility—reachable only by water taxi or foot-passenger ferry— prefabrication was key to overcoming logistical challenges. Daria Sheina Studio collaborated with BC Passive House, a full-service prefab company based in Pemberton, British Columbia. Virtual modeling enabled the efficient production of properly sized and weighted components, which were shipped via truck and barge, then airli7ed by helicopter for final placement. Remarkably, the entire building structure was installed in just two days. Inside, The Nest embraces sustainability with minimalist interiors featuring exposed wood surfaces and green Marmoleum flooring that reflects the natural beauty of the moss carpet outside. Large li7-and-slide doors further connect the interior to the landscape, blurring the line between inside and outside. The client’s selection of distinctive homeware adds a playful, joyful touch, balancing the pronounced architectural forms with unique character. For the homeowners, The Nest is more than an architectural statement—it is a deeply personal retreat. Chadd Andre and Sean Sikorski say: “Keats Island is such a special place—it’s so close to the city, and yet a million miles away. The Nest is meant to amplify that effect for us, providing us with an escape to balance our sanity and mental health from the realities we easily get caught up in back in Vancouver. As its name implies, The Nest is a sheltering, nurturing space in the trees.” The final result is an eco-friendly, self-sufficient, low-impact home—an exemplary model of how thoughkul design can forge profound connections between people and place.

Design Firm: Daria Sheina Studio

Designer: Daria Sheina

• Structural: Equilibrium Consul'ng
• Prefabrica'on: BC Passive House
• Contractor: Lincoln Construc'on
• Energy Advisor: Shape Energy
• Windows & Doors: Innotech Windows + Doors
• Siding: Westcoast Wood Distribu'on
• CLT Supplier: Mercer

Photography: Andrew Latreille

Photographer’s Website / IG / FB: andrewlatreille.com / @latreillephotography