La Memoire Residence
LA MEMOIRE RESIDENCE
Studio Phh Architects
ARCHITECTS
Studio Phh Architects
LEAD TEAM
Pierre-henri Hoppenot
ARCHITECTURE OFFICES
Design Northwest
DESIGN TEAM
Studio Phh Architects
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Anr Landscape Architecture
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Madrona Lloyd
MANUFACTURERS
Pelle Design Store
PHOTOGRAPHS
Rafael Soldi Photography
AREA
3200 ft²
YEAR
2023
LOCATION
Camano, United States
CATEGORY
Residential Architecture, Houses
English description provided by the architects.
Loaded with history and on a fragile but dramatic site, the owner's dream of being stewards of the property while extending and renovating the home quickly became challenging.
Hoppenot, founder of Studio PHH Architects, was brought onto the project after being recommended by a family friend who saw them struggle with preserving the site's beauty and the home's intentions as originally designed by Terry Hunziker.
Tasked with adding a large kitchen, new dining space, storage, and a bathroom while also re-thinking the entry sequence, Hoppenot gives deference to the history of the home and the site while redefining both.
The first challenge facing Studio PHH Architects was to maintain the poetry and spectacle of the site that the owners experienced on that first visit.
The extension was carefully sited to avoid disturbing the existing trees to strengthen the connection between the horizontality of the house and the towering verticality of the ancient forest.
The dramatic experience of approaching the house was intentionally heightened and choreographed.
The entrance is discovered slowly: after emerging through a forest of dense Fir and Ferns, the structure hides the view as you descend stone steps embedded in the landscape and cross a bridge to reach the front door.
Here, you are invited to slip through two perpendicular Corten walls, which create a final moment of compression before the release.
The home opens up as you turn, and the long axis of the house reveals itself.
The two large corner windows sit on the edge of the landscape and face each other as though in a quiet dialogue.
The house disappears behind you as the horizon line blends with the architecture.
The extension was planned through a process of "carving" in order to frame critical views of the water while reserving large blocks of programmed storage and counter space for cooking.
The 2,300 S.F. home feels intentionally connected, but the extension provides added nuance.
Occupying two large corner windows on the edge of the landscape, the dining and living room face each other as though in a quiet dialogue - the old and the new inviting in the landscape and celebrating the breathtaking views the special site has to offer.
The house feels both meditative and inspiring, a perfect space to share or occupy alone.
Hoppenot's work dovetails effortlessly with Hunziker's original design despite the years.
Materials from the original, like the Corten steel and antiqued mirrors, were pulled into the extension, while new materials introduced, like leathered quartzite, white oak flooring, and blackened steel, were carefully woven into the existing house.
