Taking full advantage of sweeping views of Puget Sound, the main home is sited on a small plateau high on top of a steeply-sloping hillside. With a view on one side and a road on the other, the site suggested a stone plinth and stone wall to form the base and rear of the house. A pair of stone fireplace volumes supports the concept, rising together to form the boundaries of a central stone staircase that separates the main level into public and private realms. Atop the low stone base then perches a light-filled wood structure. Its simple shed roof tips low in front to protect from the summer sun while offering space for a photovoltaic array above. Winter light, in turn, penetrates deep into the main living spaces through a wall of glass running continuously across building’s south elevation. The relative height difference between this wood pavilion and that of the adjacent stone volume also allows consistent north light to flood into the primary living spaces via a series of clerestory windows, which release warm air high on the leeward side of the structure.
The site for the guest house came with more significant technical challenges. The concept begins with a stone tower set near the center of the small circular parcel. Rising high above steeply-sloping grade, it acts as a three-dimensional datum through which feature program elements are allowed to puncture. The main entry offers ease of access to the project’s public spaces through a simple, full-height opening cut into the stone volume’s north elevation. The stair, comprised of a concrete base below large casement windows, allows natural light to fill the main stairway as it leads guests toward the bedrooms located at the home’s lower level. Opposite the entry, the view deck extends from the great room, cantilevering far above grade. The dining room, finally, was conceived as a three-sided glass object floating in a forest of trees. Two steel beams carry its entire weight and extend deep into the floor system. To enhance the concept, our team preserved trees only a few feet from the dining room by developing custom retaining walls capable of avoiding critical root zones.
Taken together, the buildings provide two related but distinct ways of appreciating the beauty of this site.
Project name: Hillside Sanctuary
Architect: Hoedemaker Pfeiffer – https://hoedemakerpfeiffer.com/
Location: San Juan Islands, Washington State, United States
Area: 4463 ft²
Year: 2017
Photographer: Kevin Scott – https://www.kevinscott.us/
Lead Architects : Steve Hoedemaker, Todd Beyerlein
Contractor: Schuchart Dow
Landscape architect: Randy Allworth, Allworth Design
Structural engineer: Malsam Tsang
Civil engineer: LPD Engineering
Geotechnical engineer: Nelson Geotechnical Associates, Inc
Arborist: Island Tree Doctor