Photographer: Andrew Pogue | ArchDaily

Hillside Residence / Prentiss + Balance + Wickline Architects

Susanna Moreira — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000

The 2400 sf Hillside House sits comfortably on a forested slope strewn with enormous boulders. The owners entrusted us with their dream of a comfortable home for an active family of five. At our first meeting, one of the owners shared a sketch of a u-shaped floor plan that literally hugged the largest, most prominent boulder. Although practicalities intervened, embracing the boulder was the seed of the design and we kept it in mind as the project developed.

Longbranch Residence / mwworks

Hadir Al Koshta — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Over decades, the once-forested rural slice of land had its center carved out and its length severed by a series of retaining walls straining to hold back the sloping earth. An aging suburban home sat uncomfortably at the promontory. With an affection for the Key Peninsula developed through 35 years of visits to a small beach cabin nearby, our clients were enthusiastically engaged in the process of creating a home on this slice of land. They envisioned a new home for themselves, a bunch of foster dogs, a few horses, and visiting family and friends.

Evening Sky Residence / Scott Edwards Architecture

Hadir Al Koshta — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The Evening Sky Residence is a vineyard home in the foothills of McMinnville, Oregon. The house is placed in a natural clearing at the vineyard's highest point, sited to overlook the Willamette Valley to the East and the Coastal Mountain Range to the West. The architecture's linearity, contextualized materials, and indoor-outdoor living create a place that is inviting and timeless. Interiors promote a warm minimalism, with elevated finishes and tailored moments responding to the clients' vision. Views from the residence connect those who reside here with their vines and the surrounding landscape, composing a daily life that is deeply intertwined with the working vineyard and Oregon wine country.

French Creek Workshops House / Wittman Estes

Pilar Caballero — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

This home for a newly retired couple sits beside a wetland on a four-and-a-half-acre site once used as an animal sanctuary. Conceived as a serene retreat immersed in nature, it offers comfort and beauty throughout the seasons, sheltering its occupants during the cool, rainy months and opening outward during the dry, warm season.

Whidbey Uparati House / Wittman Estes

Hana Abdel — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Floating above a meadow, Whidbey Uparati minimizes visual and physical impact on the natural landscape by blending into the site rather than asserting itself upon it. Upon approach, the meadow vegetation surrounds a winding path up a steady slope to the house. The house is a family retreat for meditation, bonding, and uparati – "stillness" in sanskrit.

Alaska Airlines Flagship Lounge / Graham Baba Architects

Andreas Luco — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 15:00:00 +0000

At the Alaska Airlines Flagship Lounge in SeaTac International Airport, the door is always open. Travelers seek lounges as an escape from the anxiety, noise, and commotion of the concourse. Traditionally, airport lounges catered to this desire by emphasizing exclusivity: sleek, business-oriented safe havens that prioritized the needs of a privileged swath of travelers. Alaska Airlines sought to transform the lounge typology by providing a warm, welcoming space where all guests could find refuge – to relax, work, refuel and connect – a home-away-from-home with a sense of place deeply rooted in the Pacific Northwest. Programmatically, the lounge is conceived in four zones: Come In, an approachable entry; Help Yourself, a casual bistro; Take a Breath, a haven for peaceful relaxation; and Cut Loose, a cozy bar atmosphere. Lightly separated with an array of oak and twisted metal screens, the spaces flow together.

Northwest Native: Homes of the Salish Sea

Eric Baldwin — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 05:30:00 +0000

The Pacific Northwest is synonymous with rainy mountains, expansive coastlines and dense forests. Known for its majestic landscapes, the region has innate connections to the waterfront. Over time, these channels were referred to as the Salish Sea. Encompassing the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Puget Sound, the intricate network of bays and inlets is bounded by British Columbia and Washington. Dotted with a number of major port cities, including Bellingham, Vancouver, and Seattle, the Salish Sea has also been home to many indigenous peoples.

Boathouse / Prentiss + Balance + Wickline Architects

Luciana Pejić — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 18:00:00 +0000

Located in the San Juan Islands, the Boathouse stands foremost as a threshold between water and land, an idea it embraces literally by providing upland access to those arriving by boat or seaplane, and figuratively through its location and form. It straddles the elements, providing an entryway as well as a dramatic spot for a morning cup of coffee or a crab boil with the extended family.

Stillwater House / Prentiss + Balance + Wickline Architects

Luciana Pejić — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 03:00:00 +0000

Located on 35 acres outside of Whitefish Montana, the Stillwater residence sits at the edge of a field along the Stillwater River. Meant as a second home for quiet retreats as well as larger gatherings, eventually, the clients plan to move in permanently to take advantage of the scenery, outdoor activities, and remoteness of the rural site.

Aldo Beach House / Wittman Estes

Andreas Luco — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Aldo Beach House transforms a 1940s beach house into a new multi-generational home—doubling the livable area while lightly touching the delicate ecology of the waterfront. Two shifting wings hover over the hillside and beach supported by thin steel columns and pin piles. Located on the eastern shore of Hood Canal near the Bangor submarine base, the new beach house includes the original two-bedroom structure for an expanded program of two new bedrooms, two bathrooms, and flex space. The design consists of three distinct parts: the original footprint, and the two projecting wings: the first a south ground floor addition, and the second an upper-level master suite to the north.

Gem State: Living with Nature in Idaho's Mountains and Valleys

Eric Baldwin — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 04:00:00 +0000

Idaho's nickname is "The Gem State" for its abundance of natural resources and scenic areas, from steep canyons and valleys to snow-capped mountains. It's no surprise that the state's architecture draws from this context, especially for remote housing projects. Reinterpreting building methods, materials, and spatial relationships, architects have designed a series of incredible homes across Idaho that are redefining how to live in nature.

Yo-Ju Courtyard House / Wittman Estes

Valeria Silva — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 17:00:00 +0000

What happens to the suburban single-family home as cities become dense and privacy becomes limited? It must look inward. Through a series of thresholds from opaque to transparent, Yo-Ju Courtyard House, which means “secluded living” in Mandarin Chinese, embraces the future of suburban density by establishing a private experience despite being adjacent to a busy arterial street in the Clyde Hill neighborhood of Bellevue.

Hood River Retreat / Wittman Estes Architecture + Landscape

Daniel Tapia — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 01:00:00 +0000

A series of family cabins hidden in the forest and overlooking Washington's Hood Canal, the Hood Cliff Retreat is located on a 1.13-acre site atop a bluff on a wooded site on the western shore of Hood Canal in the Pacific Northwest. Built on the site in 1962, the original dark and opaque cedar cabin left the owners feeling cut off from nature, and they asked for an indoor-outdoor retreat that would allow them to be closer to the land and also house an expanded program of three additional bedrooms and sleeping quarters for their extended family. The project has three elements: 1) The repurposed 20’x20’ footprint of the original cabin, 2) the cabin addition, and 3) a new bunkhouse and bathroom to the north.

House on the Cove / Stephenson Design Collective

Pilar Caballero — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:00:00 +0000

This project is study of environment and experience. The home itself is secondary. With views to the west that are uninterrupted Puget Sound, San Juan Islands and Olympic Mountain Range, the experience exists regardless of the home. We had to maintain this environment with minimal intrusion when adding the structure. It is hard to discount the fact that we had a great opportunity to destroy this site if we weren’t considerate and thoughtful.

The Hangar at Kenmore Town Square / Graham Baba Architects

Pilar Caballero — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 11:00:00 +0000

The 4,600-square-foot Hangar and 24,000-square-foot Town Square provide a year-round focal point and a symbolic living room for the city. Located in the heart of downtown, the complex touches upon the primal notions of gathering, creating a venue for passive and active recreation while ensuring a home for nature in the rapidly growing community. The Hangar, conceived as a pavilion, is designed to morph depending upon weather or functional requirements.

Little House / mwworks

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 08:00:00 +0000

The Little House is nestled into a lush second growth forest on a north facing bluff overlooking Hood Canal with distant views to Dabob Bay. Designed to repurpose an existing foundation, the new building is just over 20m2. The simple form is abstracted against the forest - a stark exterior contrasting a warm bright interior.

University of Washington West Campus Utility Plant / Miller Hull Partnership

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 15:00:00 +0000

Central utility plants are becoming more integral to the campuses and communities they serve. No longer are these facilities by default hidden behind chain link fences, out of sight and out of mind. On the contrary, buildings like the West Campus Utility Plant (WCUP) demonstrate how infrastructure can become a much more visible, active and engaging part of the urban fabric.

15 Bars That Combine Texture, Lighting, and Materials to Perfection

María Francisca González — Sun, 11 Mar 2018 12:00:00 +0000

Bars are the perfect meeting place to finish the day in the company of friends and a few drinks. The relaxed atmosphere and lighting allow intimate discussions around tables, while the social butterflies can instead meet around the focal element of the space, the bar.

The atmosphere provoked by the mixture of textures, smells, materials, and darkness—ideally accompanied by a cocktail menu—is an essential component in helping us find our favorite watering holes. Read on for a selection of 15 incredible examples of this typology, with images by prominent photographers such as Frank Herfort, Serena Eller Vanicher, and Yann Deret.