The original architectural design started with a simple idea; the more natural light the better.  This soon led to a two-story house that was seemingly all glass on the east facing waterfront side, and used more steel than the engineer’s office building.  The structural design was further complicated by the need for a pile supported foundation system due to the years of soft beach deposits on the site.  At one point it looked like we had created the most expensive patio in history as the first summer ended with new piles and grade beams buried in the ground and hidden by the new slab, but nothing else to show for six months of construction.   But in the end, the design came to fruition and the low sloping roof ringed with clerestory windows floats above the wall of glass panels, and from the kitchen you can see all the way back to Seattle.  Not to be outdone, the owner’s office seems to climb up from behind the master bedroom, creating a second story perch where you’ll eventually get some work done.

Instead of trying to conceal its structure, this house celebrates it.  With steel trim matching the square columns supporting nearly every corner, and window casings that end at the concrete piers separating the dining room from the bedrooms, the structure for this house is as much a part of the architecture as everything else.