Modern City Townhouses

Program Summary:
4 units on a 6000sf lot with:
> 3 bedrooms + office
> 2 ½ bathrooms
> open, split-level living space
> private garage, storage, and laundry

Green Features:
> photovoltaic panels will provide 1,200kWh per unit, connected to sell back to the grid
> 1200 sf green roof
> generous natural light and natural ventilation
> hydronic radiant heating
> on-demand water heaters
> non-toxic, low-VOC for all materials

Site
Previously a single-family lot, this 60’x100’ property in North Beacon Hill will soon be home to 4 urban townhouses. The site design takes advantage of views and sunlight from the south, provides convenient driveway access to individual garages on the north, and sets the stage for increasing density in the neighborhood.

Building Design
The building is conceived as a series of private boxes perched above a simple base course surrounded by native plantings. The units are designed to have both privacy and a sense of the larger site and city.

Each unit has a private entry and front garden. The primary living space is an open split-level plan with generous light from the south facing wall of glass which opens to the garden. Direct summer sun is sheltered by the overhang of the bedroom floor above and by the garden trees. Light is drawn down to the center of each unit by a tall wall extending up to a large skylight at the stair hall. This light also fills the upper hallway so that although the efficient plan provides three comfortable bedrooms and two bathrooms in a small footprint, the journey between spaces is open, light, and dramatic.

The master bedroom occupies the private box, with high ceilings and striking views to Mt. Rainier. From here, one steps onto a balcony and then up a spiral stair to a private roof deck with 360° views. The remainder of the roof to the north will be an expanse of plantings on a green roof, bounded along the north edge by a series of solar panels.