![Overlook Guest House / Schwartz and Architecture - Windows, Forest](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/56ce/469e/e58e/ce8f/8100/0486/newsletter/portada_Schwartz-Overlook-1097_copy.jpg?1456359053)
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Architects: Schwartz and Architecture
- Area: 775 ft²
- Year: 2015
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Photographs:Matthew Millman
![Overlook Guest House / Schwartz and Architecture - Windows, Stairs, Forest](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/56ce/4735/e58e/cefa/9100/042c/newsletter/Schwartz-Overlook-0468_copy.jpg?1456359204)
Text description provided by the architects. Despite an extremely steep, almost undevelopable, wooded site, the Overlook Guest House strategically creates a new fully accessible indoor/outdoor dwelling unit that allows an aging family member to remain close by and at home.
![Overlook Guest House / Schwartz and Architecture - Image 6 of 18](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/56ce/4688/e58e/cefa/9100/042a/newsletter/Schwartz-Overlook-0388_copy.jpg?1456359029)
Designing a fully accessible new home for a mobility-impaired aging in-law on a steep and wooded hillside site requires a highly efficient and site sensitive footprint, already both hallmarks of good sustainable design.
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/56ce/4784/e58e/ce8f/8100/0488/newsletter/DRAWINGS_OLGH1.jpg?1456359285)
This 2-bedroom, 775 sq ft home employs a low-impact drilled pier foundation system to perch the structure delicately on this steep site; balancing cut and fill while maximizing views and an expansive feel.
![Overlook Guest House / Schwartz and Architecture - Windows, Door](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/56ce/476e/e58e/cefa/9100/042e/newsletter/Schwartz-Overlook-0951_copy.jpg?1456359260)
With much of the small interior spaces being allocated to accessibility and movement, it becomes a design imperative to capture exterior space as part of the functional portion of the home.
![Overlook Guest House / Schwartz and Architecture - Facade, Concrete](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/56ce/4810/e58e/cefa/9100/0431/newsletter/Schwartz-Overlook-1088_copy.jpg?1456359419)
A seamless transition between interior and exterior environment is amplified by a single floor slab and overhead plane that unite the residential wing and the opposing garage of the home. The resulting covered area increases the usable floor area using a minimum of building resources.
![Overlook Guest House / Schwartz and Architecture - Table, Chair, Windows](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/56ce/47f4/e58e/ce8f/8100/048b/newsletter/Schwartz-Overlook-1030_copy.jpg?1456359394)
A prominent roof oculus within this covered “courtyard” space provides for a dynamic interior / exterior space directly adjacent to indoor living space as well as promotes a cooling air flow through the often harsh micro-climate of the site.
![Overlook Guest House / Schwartz and Architecture - Image 10 of 18](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/56ce/4750/e58e/cefa/9100/042d/newsletter/Schwartz-Overlook-0493_copy.jpg?1456359229)