Dyde House
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Designed 1960
The Dyde House sits on fifty acres of land, surrounded by another 190 acres which was all purchased in
1958 by Henry Alexander (Sandy) Dyde. 80 acres were donated by the Dydes to the University of Alberta to
establish the Devonian Botanic Garden, which opened in 1959. In 1960 they hired Arthur Erickson to design
their country home on the property. They were referred to him by Lilias Torrance Newton, who was a well
known portrait painter in Montreal, and was one of his former professors at McGill University.
In 1975 the additional 110 acres were sold to the university by the Dydes at a fraction of it's market value.
30 of those acres were used to build the Kurimoto Japanese Gardens, and some buildings. The remaining
50 acres with the Erickson- designed house were gifted by the family to the Devonian Botanic Garden in
2014, fulfilling the wish of Sandy Dyde.
The house was was the first masonry house by Arthur Erickson, which he sited on a high point of the
magnificent property to capture a commanding view. It is constructed with varied concrete blocks of a warm
natural hue to fit into the landscape. The floors are in Manitoba limestone, and the ceiling in the main room is
in British Columbia cedar. This room was designed for large gatherings, with a protruding white wall over the
fireplace for film or slide projections. A wall of windows with large sliding glass doors opens onto an outdoor
patio with stunning views of the vast property.