Hillside Residence settles right into a wooded perch in San Juan County, WA, United States, the place Heliotrope Architects divides a compact home into two constructions round an old-growth fir. Designed in 2023, the 1,500-square-foot retreat pairs expansive south-facing glass with deep sheltering overhangs, bringing the San Juan archipelago into every day view whereas holding the structure carefully attuned to climate, shade, and the rugged floor.
About Hillside Residence
Hillside Residence takes a modest program and makes use of it to deepen contact with a dramatic, wooded website. Heliotrope Architects separates the 1,500-square-foot residence into two constructions positioned on reverse sides of an old-growth fir, permitting the tree to stay a focus quite than an impediment to building.
Towards the rocky slope, the buildings preserve a low horizontal profile beneath broad, shallow-pitched roofs. Wooden-lined soffits lengthen past the glass partitions, visually linking sheltered interiors with decks and uneven floor.
A Home in Two Components
This system assigns residing areas and a visitor suite to 1 construction, whereas the first suite occupies the opposite. This separation is compact in scale however expansive in expertise: passing between the volumes locations the panorama, climate, and central fir inside every day routines. Matching rooflines, heat wooden finishes, and a shared relationship to the hillside permit the buildings to learn as one composition.
Dividing this system additionally avoids forcing each perform beneath a single roof. Open floor stays between and across the constructions, sustaining direct contact with timber, uncovered rock, and altering atmospheric circumstances.
Glass Towards the Archipelago
Alongside the south facade, glass partitions run almost its full size, opening the interiors to layered views of conifers, water, and islands. The panorama stays seen from the residing space, the first sleeping house, and even the freestanding tub. Deep overhangs mood summer time solar and supply safety from the climate, whereas full-height curtains provide a softer, adjustable display.
Slender window frames preserve the emphasis outward. Inside, darkish wood-burning stoves and their vertical flues present a measured counterpoint to the broad horizontal openings and pale textiles.
Native Craft and Heat Wooden
Wooden boards run underfoot and overhead, giving the interiors a quiet consistency. The flooring and ceilings are milled on the island, whereas built-in bookcases, kitchen cabinetry, window surrounds, and trim preserve the restrained palette. White tile and a muted inexperienced island lighten the kitchen; black metal parts sharpen the composition with out interrupting its heat.
The venture’s native sourcing extends past its finishes. The cabinetmaker and metal fabricator are islanders, and the home windows and doorways are produced lower than 50 miles from the positioning. Joinery, storage, and punctiliously proportioned openings carry a lot of the inside character with out ornamental extra.
Outside Rooms on the Slope
A broad deck types an out of doors eating space with an extended desk and cooking counter above the descending floor. Elsewhere, Adirondack chairs circle a fireplace bowl on a stone-paved terrace set amongst boulders and grasses. Gentle railings protect the outward view the place the terrain falls away.
From the wood-lined inside to the hearth circle under, the residence maintains shut visible contact with timber, rock, and distant water. Its strongest transfer can be its easiest: a small home provides the positioning room to stay current.
Pictures courtesy of Heliotrope Architects
Go to Heliotrope Architects
– by Matt Watts
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