Location: Ballard, Seattle, WA
Design Conception: 2017
Construction Completion: 2019
This home was our second collaboration with this family. Growing in numbers, the clients were seeking a quieter, bigger, more efficient design than the previous one we designed and built for them. The result of our efforts was this PHIUS certified Passive House.
The home’s footprint stretches east to west, maximizing the opportunity for south-facing windows which collect solar energy and connect the interior to the ground-floor courtyard.
Planters providing stormwater catchment are woven with surrounding architecture, providing privacy from the street and softening the edges of the home
South-facing windows are outfitted with canopies to prevent overheating in the summer.
A detached garage allows early afternoon sun into the courtyard while creating a privacy screen from the street. Two large sliding doors connect this space to the interior.
The home’s west side faces the street, and the threat of summer overheating suggests a conservative use of windows. The result is a balance of textures with only two street-facing windows.
A single large skylight floods the home’s interior with natural light.
The light reaches beyond the upper floor and into the ground level living room, providing a bright atmosphere that needs little artifical light.
The color palette inside echos the exterior, with natural wood providing the accent of color outside of the grayscale.
This photograph of the upper level corridor was taken in late fall and shows the extent that natural light shines under the overhead shades this time of year.
