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Trestle Cabin / Miller Hull Partnership

Hana Abdel — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000

This project seeks to develop a prototype for the development of low-impact cabins on challenging and remote sites. Borrowing conceptual strategies from Metabolist architecture of the 1960s, the proposal utilizes a language of superstructure and modules to allow for adaptations over time. Recognizing the immense investment and environmental impact of remote development, the strategy employs long-term thinking, allowing the structure to remain relevant across many generations and owners.

Exposition Heights House / Floisand Studio

Andreas Luco — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Exposition Heights is a complete transformation of a Seattle split-level into a two-story modern gable home. Despite a tight budget, the comprehensive remodel almost doubles the square footage of the original 1960s home, accommodates urban density challenges, and demonstrates how older homes can be adapted to meet the changing needs of their owners.

True Headquarters / LOC Architects

Luciana Pejić — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

This 18,000 SF headquarters for a beverage lifestyle accessories designer and distributor is located in an existing concrete warehouse in central Seattle.

Decatur Island Bunkhouse / Miller Hull Partnership

Paula Pintos — Tue, 25 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Light on the land and no more than necessary – these were the first principles that guided the development of a 400-square-foot bunkhouse adjacent to the iconic Decatur Island Cabin designed by Robert Hull, Miller Hull’s late founding partner, in 1986. A deep respect for the natural condition of the site drove all decisions made by the design team. By elevating the enclosed volume above the site, the building massing amplifies the sloping topography while minimizing site disturbance. Foundations were reduced to six-point loads puncturing the natural landscape. A timber exoskeleton pays homage to the neighboring cabin while supporting a simple “sleeve” of interior space. These rooms are arranged with sensitivity to exposure and views, allowing the bunkhouse to sit near the cabin while maintaining privacy.

Little House Big Shed / David Van Galen Architecture

Andreas Luco — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 17:00:00 +0000

Red Alders are the first to arrive after a clear cut. Fast-growing and rich in nutrients, they heal and prepare the land for what is to come. They are followed by Douglas Firs, their slow growth nourished by the loam that the alders leave behind, creating their own ecosystem as they gradually displace the alders. The owners fell in love with this piece of property the first time they walked into the woods on a windy December day. This inland island site was likely logged in the first half of the last century. Three acres of the 5 acre site are now established second-growth woodlands that tower above the rolling meadow at the site’s entrance.

Canal Street Office Transformation in Fremont / Heliotrope Architects

Valeria Silva — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 02:00:00 +0000

The Canal Street project takes a narrow, commercially-zoned, urban-infill lot with a small, rundown 1950s-era house and transforms it into a new, forward-thinking, 5,233 square foot, commercial office building for Turnstyle (a graphic design firm) and Stoke (a branding firm). The 30-foot-wide x 100-foot-deep lot is situated along a shoreline greenbelt across the street from the ship canal in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle.

Lone Madrone Retreat / Heliotrope Architects

Andreas Luco — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 05:00:00 +0000

Located on a rocky, wind-swept south facing shoreline; this retreat home nestles into the landscape to harmonize with its surroundings and minimize exposure to weather. The home is a vacation retreat for a family of four, who desired a low-impact home with a strong connection to land and sea. The design solution utilizes a simple ‘wedge’ shape geometry, mimicking the hillside slope beyond, and is tucked into a natural depression in the shoreline in order to diminish its visual impact.

Artist Residence / Heliotrope Architects

Cristobal Rojas — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 17:00:00 +0000

When a young couple approached Heliotrope Architects and asked them to design a home with an art studio inside, all parties sat around the table contributing ideas – some atypical. The couple, an artist and an engineer, listed several additional criteria for their new home: a contemporary style, but not out of place with the rest of the Capitol Hill neighborhood; a visual connection to the street balanced with privacy; a strong relationship between the interior and exterior; lots of natural light; an interior with an art-gallery-feel to accommodate their growing art collection; and a separate guest wing.

Urban Cabin / Suyama Peterson Deguchi

Florencia Mena — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 11:00:00 +0000

Urban Cabin was designed for a retired couple interested in downsizing and simplifying their lives. The couple lived on the site for 26 years, creating and nurturing their private yet urban sanctuary. The challenge was to design an appropriate response to the ideals of living with less in a neighborhood which is prone to excess. Conceptually, the design was inspired by a picnic shelter in a forest. The ideas of a primitive picnic shelter gave direction to both the building’s form and minimal program requirements. All program elements were reduced of excesses and distilled down to the elemental.

Courtyard House on a River / Robert Hutchison Architecture

Cristian Aguilar — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 13:00:00 +0000

This small residence located on the banks of the White River five miles from Mt. Rainier quietly blends into the surrounding forest.

River House / Suyama Peterson Deguchi

Daniel Sánchez — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 12:00:00 +0000

River House was designed to be a serene shelter embracing the natural beauty of the rugged mountain area. The complex program for a retired couple included a guest wing and extended outdoor living areas. The site is located within an older cul-de-sac development above a meandering river and the challenge was to build a private oasis in this dense setting with a connection to the river and the surrounding scenic mountains.

Janus Residence / Workshop AD

Karen Valenzuela — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 14:00:15 +0000

This project, for a family of four, transforms a 1930 brick tudor into a house with two faces. The traditional, street facing façade remains untouched, concealing the dramatic change to the interior and rear façade.

Leschi Residence / Adams Mohler Ghillino Architects

Victoria King — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The 3300 SF residence occupies an irregularly shaped, sloping urban lot overlooking Lake Washington with diagonal views of the Cascade Mountain Range to the Northeast and Southeast.

Gregg’s Cycles / Weinstein A|U

Christopher Henry — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Weinstein A|U designed the new 12,000 sqf building for Gregg’s Cycles to be a pure neutral container that highlights the bicycle. It was conceived as an elevated steel box that is supported structurally and programmatically by a CMU perimeter zone.

North Beach / Heliotrope Architects

Kelly Minner — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This residence is located on a northwesterly oriented beach fronting the Strait of Georgia. The site includes many second-growth douglas firs, a beech grove and a grassy meadow with good solar exposure. For over a thousand years this site was a summer camp location for the Lummi Indians, and due to its archeological significance, no footing excavation could take place on the site. Further, its location in a federally designated flood plain required that the structure be raised off the ground several feet. The design brief called for a very low-impact, easy to maintain summer home that provides necessary programmatic functions with minimum distractions from the land and the view.

Loop Residence / Heliotrope Architects

Kelly Minner — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Loop Residence is a new home situated on a rock outcropping several hundred feet above the ocean. A simple plan utilizing wood frames and a prefabricated roof structure, Heliotrope Architects designed a memorable residence with pristine views.

Vashon Cabin / Vandeventer + Carlander Architects

Nico Saieh — Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

This project consists of the remodel of an existing one story cabin with a daylight basement. Given tight site development restrictions resulting from an existing drain field, it was not possible to increase the existing cabin's lot coverage. This constraint, coupled with the clients' desire for a complete reorganization and enhancement of the main floor spaces, resulted in the decision to demolish the existing structure down to the main floor. Given a program calling for additional floor area, the design concept evolved into making a small addition, replacing a previous exterior deck. The addition is a wood box "insertion" which extends into the main structure; it slides in over the existing floor structure and cantilevers out over existing basement walls, thus not affecting the existing drain field.

Mad Park Residence / Vandeventer + Carlander Architects

Nico Saieh — Fri, 14 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The site for this home is a steep slope corner lot in a prestigious neighborhood. Existing site conditions include neighbors to the west and north, a busy arterial below, and a residential street to the east. Though the existing residence was demolished, the previous daylight basement level and existing retaining walls established the datum for the new house.