This duplex sits on Market Street in Ballard, Seattle - one of the busiest residential streets in the city. Front doors face a bustling avenue of cars and pedestrians while the rooftop captures views of the surrounding neighborhood and Olympic Mountains.
Interior stairs separate the living room and bedrooms from the energy of the street.
We depend on our homes to shelter us from the increasing complexity of urban life. When we arrive home, we need a filter - a place that welcomes us while holding at bay the chaos of the world behind us.
An optical aperture sharpens an image by shrinking its opening to accept only those light rays which are more parallel. This is called collimation.
By accepting less light, the resulting image is in finer focus - a case where less is more. In order to double the intensity of light at a constant focal length, the aperture diameter must increase by a factor of √2.
The ratios of 1:√2 and 1:2 have been used together as a proportioning system for the building plan and elevations. Street elevation studies are shown here.