Update: When TLC proposed to sell Binning House as part of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) process, the CCAA judge heard arguments from each of the parties that contested the sale. The University of British Columbia (UBC) contested the transfer on the basis that the executors of the Binning estate did not have the authority to handle the transfer of the house in the way they did. The trial judge dismissed the UBC argument, finding that the will granted the trustees significant discretion to fulfill the owner’s hope that the Binning House would be preserved for historical purposes.UBC appealed that ruling to the Court of Appeal for B.C. who upheld UBC’s argument. The result of that decision is that the house reverts back to the Binning estate. The court also found that TLC is able to reclaim all its legal expenses for this case from the Binning estate.

For more information please view the judgment from the Court of Appeal for B.C.

Please Note: Binning House has been transferred back to the Estate of Jessie Binning.

The Binning House is a one-storey house located on a quiet residential street in West Vancouver. Designed in 1939 by Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning, the house is a very early example of the Modern architectural movement in Canada. Built into a sloping site overlooking Burrard Inlet and Vancouver, the design of the house has geometric forms with open-plan layouts, trapezoidal shapes in both glass and tile, angled furniture and walls, and murals. The residence is an impressive mix of both art and architecture.

Since its completion in 1941, many artists and architects made the pilgrimage to see and experience the house and visit with Bert and his wife Jessie. Despite the fact that now modernist technologies are entrenched in practically every aspect of day-to-day life, it is difficult to comprehend how revolutionary the Binning Residence would have been at the time of its creation. The house and its designer strongly influenced other (now) famous Canadian architects, like Arthur Erickson and Ron Thom. Bertram Binning passed away in 1976 and his widow Jessie continued to live in the house until 2007 at the age of 101. The house is now a National Historic Site and Municipal Heritage Site.

To find out more please view our Biography of B.C. Binning and B.C. Binning as an Artist.