Omar Gandhi wraps Prince Edward Island house in corrugated metal

Omar Gandhi Architects has completed a house and workshop for furniture maker Brodye Chappell in Marshfield, an agricultural area just outside Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, Canada.

The two-part property wears a light-grey corrugated metal skin that runs down the roof slope and along the exterior walls, shielding the interior from summer sun, rainy shoulder seasons and winter snowfall.

"The intent was to create somewhat of a line in the dirt on the top of the agrarian landscape," Omar Gandhi Architects (OGA) founder Omar Gandhi told Dezeen. "There was an ambition to create a minimal response, and a striking silhouette in the farmstead landscape."

Who built it, and how?

The delivery model is the unusual part. Chappell, proprietor of Brodye Chappell Builds and Chappell Custom Homes, provided ongoing design input, crafted the interior millwork and furniture, and led a piecemeal construction on evenings and weekends, drawing help from friends, colleagues and tradespeople on the island.

Gandhi, who keeps offices in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Germany, designed the building's form and exterior palette. The design team also included David Greenwell.

"The Chappell Residence is a home built slowly, with intention," the studio said. "Rooted in land, labour and family connection, it stands as a place lived in and made by hand – an architecture where work and life form one continuous narrative."

What does the form reference?

Settled along the property line, the building looks out to Chappell's parents' horse farm and touches lightly on its surroundings.

"The architecture borrows from rural vernacular building forms – elongated rooflines, agricultural profiles – then abstracts them into something leaner and more contemporary," OGA said. "A gable roof pairs with a hyper-extended hip, producing a familiar silhouette sharpened into new form."

Vertical stripes of glass and black detailing break the metallic finish, which reflects the surrounding sky and helps the house sit just above the grassy fields.

At one end, the primary suite opens to a small porch underneath the slope of the hip roof. At the other, the workshop dissolves into wooden slats that fold open as a concealed garage door.

How do house and workshop differ?

The shared family spaces occupy one edge of the courtyard; the workshop sits on the other. The contrast between the two is deliberate.

"The interior palette is warm and bright with wood, crafted pieces and a collection of art and fixtures from friends and colleagues," Gandhi said.

"The garage is quite raw – concrete floors, exposed structure and enough wall space for tools and materials."

While walls and delicate pendant lights give the house a soft finish, the workshop carries skateboards and a glass garage door.

The project joins a run of OGA residential work in the region, including a Corten-steel cabin, a coastal cedar house and a cascading cedar lake property, all in Nova Scotia.

Photography is by Felix Michaud.