More Views

This project involved adding a detached garage that would include the owners’ personal office with full living quarters above the garage itself. The home is located in northeast Seattle, perched above Lake Washington and featuring a spectacular view, and of course we wanted to maximize the lake view from the new structure.

Specific challenges were involved because the property is an environmentally critical area (ECA) site, and a steep slope made it potentially hazardous. As such, we needed to deal with significant geotechnical site issues to see what we could design and build on site.

There was substantial earth work (site construction) in which we placed a large concrete retraining wall so as to reclaim much of the unusable steep slope and increase the usable square footage. In this way, we substantially increased the yard area, which would then be transformed into spectacular gardens with a very cozy fire pit built within.

Furthermore, the site work also included in excess of 140 four-inch pipe piles to a depth of 12 to 22 feet below the surface, and then we built the concrete foundation on top of the pipe piles. We built a commercial structural slab for the garage floor as a cost savings function, and then the office/living space above the garage. Construction took about eight months because of the severity of the site work.
The upper unit of the structure is actually its own dwelling, including a kitchen with a full complement of cabinets. The upper unit has hydronic heat (in-floor heat) for uniform comfort.

We devised a covered breezeway to connect the garage and the home so the homeowner could move between the two without being affected by the weather. Architecturally, it was important that the detached garage and office fit the owner’s landscape preferences because she loves gardening. We tied the common areas together with hard surfaces laid with beautiful Pennsylvania blue stone and beautiful landscape design.