Architecture Wednesday: Washington Park Residence

The Washington Park Residence, so named because it sits in Washington Park, on a bluff above Lake Washington, in Seattle, is one of my favorite homes because it’s giving me Frank Lloyd Wright pseudo-Prairie style modernity mixed in with urban materials and a 2019 environmental vibe.

First up, the design takes advantage of the site by capturing broad, unobstructed views of the lake and the Cascades, while preserving privacy through the use of concrete walls, on the street façade—with clerestory windows for light—along with expansive glass in the back for that feeling of openness.

It’s upon entering the house, from a courtyard on its western edge, that you see the transparency of its eastern façade. The infinity pool at the edge of the terrace eliminates the need for a railing and merges visually with the waters of Lake Washington, about eighty feet below the home.

Floor to ceiling steel framed windows and doors form the east walls, while cast in place concrete chimneys anchor the ends of the major rooms. There is a main volume of the home, where you’ll find the Great Room, Kitchen, and Library, while the private spaces, the Sleeping Wing, separated by a glass walled bridge, is oriented from east to west along the south edge of the site.

Still, with its views and urban comforts, and concrete, steel, wood, stone and glass materials, it also features a green roof to mitigate storm water runoff while the geothermal heating system reduces fossil fuel consumption.

All of the things I love in a home ... style, elegance, function, and its good to Mama Earth!

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