Set on a steep, boulder-strewn slope in a densely wooded spot in Washington, the Hillside House by Prentiss Balance Wickline Architects is a compact family home designed to work with, rather than against, its rugged site. Given the site’s complexities, the architects let the land guide the home’s floorplan. This resulted in the 2,400-square-foot home tucking into a long, narrow footprint, where space for the building appeared in the form of a single strip along the hillside.
Early ideas – in part driven by the clients – imagined the house literally wrapping around a large rock on site, and while the final layout deviated somewhat from that initial concept, the presence of the boulder still shapes the experience of build, with the rock face gently brushing against the home. To manage the incline, the building steps up across three levels. A garage was tucked under the main living area, this basement zone anchoring the structure, while two perpendicular wings form an L-shaped plan above. One wing contains bedrooms, while the other houses the main living areas, which open out to a patio on one side and a deck that projects into the tree canopy on the other. In a corner space created where these volumes meet, a glazed entry space floods the home with natural light and accommodates a small timber-lined nook, informally dubbed the “nap room”.
Externally, the house presents as a series of simple, wood-clad volumes with sloping roofs that extend to shelter the decking that wraps the home. Inside, a restrained material palette of concrete, steel and Douglas fir is softened by white walls and subtle green accents that link very deliberately to the surrounding forest. The result is a calm, nature-focused home that finds a sensitive, highly liveable response to its rocky, forested setting. Discover more projects by Prentiss Balance Wickline Architects.
Photography © Andrew Pogue