North Bend House / Johnston Architects

Johnston Architects

© Will Austin Photography

As mountain guides, Scott Schell and Margaret Wheeler are used to the upper reaches of the Cascades. Their site in the foothills above Snoqualmie is not far from work. The 2,100 sqf house, designed by Johnston Architects and built by Tall Tree Construction, accommodates both professional and practical demands, but it also fulfills a deep desire to do what is right.

Architects: Johnston Architects

Location: North Bend, Washington, USA

Partner in Charge: Ray Johnston

Project Architect: Sara Imhoff

Landscape Architect: Scott Schell

Structural Engineer: BTL Engineering

Contractor: Tall Tree Construction

Client: Schell & Wheeler

Project Year: 2008

Photographs: Will Austin Photography

© Will Austin Photography

This house was built on site with many materials found, milled and crafted on the site. Blow-down trees from storms provided the logs that were milled into siding, fascias and trim. Large firs and cedars were felled, cured and processed to provide beams and some framing materials. A ground source heat pump supplemented by solar water preheating supplies energy to the house. To this, recycled materials, FSC certified materials, grey water recycling and other strategies are the basis of the soon to be achieved LEED Silver status of this house.

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The historic fabric of this complex lies in the history of use of the land and indoor/outdoor occupation of forested space. The mud room, nearby wood storage, use of varied floor materials to shake off the debris of the outside, simple roof forms are all part of this solution. Rather than dig the house into its hillside, we bridged across for an upper floor entry, minimizing grading and other disruption to the existing environment. Two thousand native plantings were made to restore the forest floor upon completion. Even on a grey and rainy day this forest retreat is filled with light.