The Cross Passage House is a modern house in the historic architectural context of Lunenberg’s Old Town. The brief asked for a low maintenance, green home with a downstairs bedroom, a large library, and an artist’s studio. The plan is informed by studies of earlier 17th Century English “Cross-Passage” houses in which the living and animals’ quarters are under the same roof, divided by a passage crossing front to back, with a focal hearth element and a loft over. In this case private living quarters are included on one side of the main floor, with living/dining/kitchen space wrapping similarly around a central core. The final design interweaves heritage references to the traditional Cape house form with contemporary approaches to light, open living, and sustainable building design. The project has received a national design award.