Living in a traditional home but enamored of modern design, our client turned to her family friend, architect Thomas Isarankura of BAAN design, seeking to build a new home on a steep site above Puget Sound yet still within the Seattle city limits.
Our client wanted simplicity, openness, and abundant light. During the design phase, she and architect Thomas Isarankura discussed a roofline that felt like origami, which Thomas translated as folds in the roof that generate long triangular clerestory windows that let in light and animate the interior. The angled roof planes help define the front entry and adjacent stairs; wash the kitchen in light from high above; and drop down to create an intimate sitting space around the hearth.
None of this would have been possible without a foundation equal to the challenge of the landslide prone site. The solution involved pouring 30 auger-cast piers, each 30 in. in diameter and averaging 38 ft. in depth. Concrete grade beams and retaining walls were poured first, then a massive concrete slab tied the sunken piers together. Once this site stabilization effort was completed, more conventional wood and steel framing followed.
This is a house defined by aerial qualities: its stunning view, its cantilevered deck, its perch high above the waterfront. It replaced an old building that had been referred to as a tree house with a larger structure that wound up feeling like … a tree house.
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