Letitia Hillside Houses

These two spec houses were designed to be affordable (low 300's) starter homes for the Seattle housing market. The pair were built on adjoining lots on a steep slope in an environmental critical area (ECA), so the site had greater development restrictions and permitting requirements than a typical project. The design solution had to be innovative to address the site and budget restrictions without compromising the quality of the architecture.

Construction was prohibited in the sloped area of the site leaving very little buildable area on an already small site. An auger cast pile foundation was used and eliminated the need for the buffer zone otherwise required when using a traditional foundation system. The piles allowed for a maximum buildable footprint of 20'x30' per site, but created a challenge in making the houses affordable.

Although the steep slope was a challenge, it did provide for nice territorial views as well as distant views of the Cascade Mountains. Views and the use natural light were exploited when possible to make for better quality spaces.

The very limited budget required the planning to be extremely efficient, so the most essential spaces would not be compromised. An innovative use of relatively inexpensive building materials and finishes resulted in interesting surfaces, patterns and details.

The design process took advantage of all setbacks and exemptions resulting in two 3 bedroom, 3 story houses of approximately 1680 sf each, providing first time home buyers with a unique housing option.

In addition, Tone Case of Case Design & Project Management brought environmentally responsible building practices to the project during the construction phase. The houses were built under the Seattle Master Builders "Built Green" program, and got a rating of 4 stars (out of a possible 5) for their green features.