Buck Mountain

Approached initially to consult with site selection, we encouraged our clients to focus on the natural features that make the San Juan Islands so unique. This Buck Mountain site, with madrone and fir forest and water views, brought challenges in the form of a steep grade and a narrow clearing created by a rocky outcropping. Rather than remove trees to open up the view, we embraced the existing conditions as we found them. The compression created by this natural opening heightens the water view in the main living spaces, while giving bedrooms and bathrooms a sense of being deep in the forest. The home, anchored to basalt at one end, floats out into the tree canopy, 22 feet above ground, to embrace expansive views on the other side. An intentional quietness to the architecture gives greatest attention to the landscape and takes subtle features into account, like the glow on the hillside that lights up the space each evening as the sun is setting.