CANOPY
HOUSE
HOUSE
new residence (1000 sf ADU + shop) : schematic design
san juan island, wa
A heavily wooded surrounding paired with the clients desire to live among the trees guided Canopy House to its vertical form. The clients desired a home with a sunny kitchen connected to outdoor living space and views from inside the home into and over the peripheral canopy line. To be filed with the local county as an ADU, Canopy House is designed with under 1000 sq feet of usable floor space. By creating a narrow building footprint and maximizing spatial efficiency in bedrooms, circulation, and secondary programmatic space, the house climbs to a third story loft that rests at eye level with the surrounding trees, and keeps the total floorplan under 1000 square feet. This 2 bedroom and 1.5 bathroom home crosses rustic farmhouse with modern treehouse, and directly reflects the tones, materials, and verticality of the surrounding forest.
The planning of the house anchors a woodworking shop to the residence via an outdoor breezeway. The breezeway allows for the residence to fit the guidelines to be filed as an ADU, while providing a visual pass through the building back to the forest to the South. A large shop space is decorated with louvered windows to the South, and a large rolling barn door to the North. Across the breezeway into level one of the residence is the entry, two bedrooms, one bathroom, and utility room. As occupants ascend to level two, they are met with a view overlooking the trees towards the valley before turning into the double volume living space. Level two holds the kitchen, dining booth, work space, and half bath. The kitchen spills out onto an entertaining deck via a 9 foot sliding door. The third story loft opens up with large operable windows to the North and West, allowing passive ventilation by stack effect, pulling cool air up through the building and forcing out hot air through these third story windows. Sitting atop the trees in the loft opens views back over the glass railing to the South through the large louvered windows providing expansive views back over the valley. Thoughtful window placement, eave sizes, and louvres over upper windows shade summer sun but maximize winter solar gain and passive heating. Carefully placed windows provide views and constant connection deep into the natural surroundings.
The planning of the house anchors a woodworking shop to the residence via an outdoor breezeway. The breezeway allows for the residence to fit the guidelines to be filed as an ADU, while providing a visual pass through the building back to the forest to the South. A large shop space is decorated with louvered windows to the South, and a large rolling barn door to the North. Across the breezeway into level one of the residence is the entry, two bedrooms, one bathroom, and utility room. As occupants ascend to level two, they are met with a view overlooking the trees towards the valley before turning into the double volume living space. Level two holds the kitchen, dining booth, work space, and half bath. The kitchen spills out onto an entertaining deck via a 9 foot sliding door. The third story loft opens up with large operable windows to the North and West, allowing passive ventilation by stack effect, pulling cool air up through the building and forcing out hot air through these third story windows. Sitting atop the trees in the loft opens views back over the glass railing to the South through the large louvered windows providing expansive views back over the valley. Thoughtful window placement, eave sizes, and louvres over upper windows shade summer sun but maximize winter solar gain and passive heating. Carefully placed windows provide views and constant connection deep into the natural surroundings.
