Beneath the canopies of Gerry Oak and between bedrock shelves burrows Connection House. The protected Gerry Oak trees on the site combined with the hard bedrock commanded a unique floorplan that navigates its way through a demanding site. The intent was to create a home that avoids these two primary elements, avoiding major alterations to the site as well as sufficiently reducing the cost of site work, while creating visual and physical connections back to these very conditions. The home is divided into two wings, a great room to the Southwest, and a bedroom wing to the Northeast. These two elements are connected via an entrance bridge, fully glazed on either side to provide a powerful visual connection back to the land upon transitioning between the two programmatic elements. This transition encourages reflection and appreciation of the unique landscape in which the house resides.
Passive heating and lighting were the primary concern for this Arizona couple transplanted to the Pacific Northwest. A continuous roof slope raises itself to the South end of a great room that is largely perforated with vertical windows. These windows open up views to the largest Gerry Oaks on the property, whose summer canopies will provide relief to the window wall and patio below and will maximize solar gain when the trees shed their leaves. Outdoor space to the South and West give sunny entertaining areas for all hours of the day, and private spaces to the North are distanced from entertaining areas and open views to the trees behind the home. Connection House is appreciated through repetition. The experience of moving through the house and being drawn to iconic pieces of the landscape drives the floorplan and provides the tether back to the trees- it's these moments that define Connection House.