Modern Architecture
Architecture
Pacific Northwest Island Home With Forest Views
An architect creates a beautiful home that makes the most of its surroundings and natural light
Moving from Southern California to a wooded island in the Pacific Northwest was a dramatic change for this couple. However, they were ready. “They liked the idea of having seasons, of being just a 45-minute ferry ride from Seattle and of getting involved in the vibrant community on Bainbridge Island,” architect Nils Finne says. And while they were excited about all the cool and artsy island happenings, they also liked the idea of a secluded retreat with wide-open views of their surroundings. It was fitting that the dramatic geographical change would include a dramatic modern house.
Finne repeated the same architectural brick on the home’s fireplace, seen on the left side of this photo. The rest of the walls of the living pavilion are glass from floor to ceiling, allowing light to permeate the space.
Finne played with the contrast of horizontal and vertical forms inside and outside the house. In the entry, this curved vertical sculptural piece is a special detail. Inside is the coat closet. “My contractor had a client who was a very skilled woodworker, so we hired him to make this,” Finne says. The woodworker made the coat closet to the architect’s specifications in his shop in Seattle, and it was transported to the island by boat.
“The closet’s design is similar to the way a boat is made,” Finne says. “It gets its curves from ribs that are put together at intervals to make them bend. Then he attached vertical strips of Douglas fir onto the ribs.”
“The closet’s design is similar to the way a boat is made,” Finne says. “It gets its curves from ribs that are put together at intervals to make them bend. Then he attached vertical strips of Douglas fir onto the ribs.”
From the entry, a few steps forward and a 90-degree turn to the left opens up this view of the living pavilion. The wall of windows on the right faces south. The fireplace in the background provides a place for the eye to rest and is designed to be in proportion with the large expanses of glass.
While Finne likes the idea of a wood-beamed ceiling with the beams 12 inches apart on center, this ceiling was expansive. He wanted to break up the denseness of beams, so he interspersed them with five light monitors. A roof with light monitors is similar to the sawtooth roofs found at many museums. It lets in natural light indirectly, controlling it so it doesn’t fade priceless works of art.
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While Finne likes the idea of a wood-beamed ceiling with the beams 12 inches apart on center, this ceiling was expansive. He wanted to break up the denseness of beams, so he interspersed them with five light monitors. A roof with light monitors is similar to the sawtooth roofs found at many museums. It lets in natural light indirectly, controlling it so it doesn’t fade priceless works of art.
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Just as the light monitors punctuate the roofline in the first photo, they also punctuate the living pavilion’s wood-beamed ceiling. And Finne does not want you to get them mixed up with skylights. Not at all.
“Skylights are horizontal planes of glass that face the sky. Sunlight barrels through and can create unbearable, uncontrollable hot spots,” he says. “They don’t control the light, they don’t manipulate the light and they don’t filter or shape the light. Light monitors are a way of architecturally controlling the light.”
By making them north-facing, Finne ensured that they provide soft, easily controllable northern light. However, he rotated each monitor slightly toward the east. This created a more interesting pattern expressed by the ceiling beams, which follow the rotating positions of each light monitor. “If all the beams had been lined up parallel to one another, the design would have lost something,” Finne says.
Three of the five light monitors are operable. This allows them to vent out hot air as it rises. “Between the large sliding doors and the light monitors, this house stays nice and cool,” Finne says. “It doesn’t have air conditioning because it doesn’t need it.”
“Skylights are horizontal planes of glass that face the sky. Sunlight barrels through and can create unbearable, uncontrollable hot spots,” he says. “They don’t control the light, they don’t manipulate the light and they don’t filter or shape the light. Light monitors are a way of architecturally controlling the light.”
By making them north-facing, Finne ensured that they provide soft, easily controllable northern light. However, he rotated each monitor slightly toward the east. This created a more interesting pattern expressed by the ceiling beams, which follow the rotating positions of each light monitor. “If all the beams had been lined up parallel to one another, the design would have lost something,” Finne says.
Three of the five light monitors are operable. This allows them to vent out hot air as it rises. “Between the large sliding doors and the light monitors, this house stays nice and cool,” Finne says. “It doesn’t have air conditioning because it doesn’t need it.”
While the house is sited in a private place, there are shades on all the windows, mostly used for light control. They tuck into shade pockets at the top of each window. The pockets maintain the clean, streamlined look.
The fireplace anchors the far end of the living pavilion. On the left side, it also houses and hides the TV behind folded steel doors. The fireplace burns bioethanol fuel, which is hidden beneath the plane of the hearth. “This is clean-burning and does not require a flue,” Finne says.
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The fireplace anchors the far end of the living pavilion. On the left side, it also houses and hides the TV behind folded steel doors. The fireplace burns bioethanol fuel, which is hidden beneath the plane of the hearth. “This is clean-burning and does not require a flue,” Finne says.
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This photo provides the closest looks at the architectural brick Finne used, which is called Kolumba brick. The name comes from the Kolumba museum in Cologne, Germany, designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. Of Finne’s many reasons for appreciating this brick, two are standouts.
One is the brick’s unique proportions. “I call this a Roman brick on steriods,” Finne says. “Typical Roman bricks will be about 2 inches high by 12 inches long. This brick is 1½ inches high by 20¾ inches long. It’s a very, very horizontal brick.”
Second is the brick’s texture. “It’s crafted with this irregular and organic feel because of the way it’s fired,” Finne says. “There are variations in the surface and color like those seen on a handmade pot. It has a wonderful quality that reminds me of the Japanese Raku technique.” That pottery technique involves placing pots in a bed of sawdust when they’re still red-hot from the kiln to enhance texture and color.
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One is the brick’s unique proportions. “I call this a Roman brick on steriods,” Finne says. “Typical Roman bricks will be about 2 inches high by 12 inches long. This brick is 1½ inches high by 20¾ inches long. It’s a very, very horizontal brick.”
Second is the brick’s texture. “It’s crafted with this irregular and organic feel because of the way it’s fired,” Finne says. “There are variations in the surface and color like those seen on a handmade pot. It has a wonderful quality that reminds me of the Japanese Raku technique.” That pottery technique involves placing pots in a bed of sawdust when they’re still red-hot from the kiln to enhance texture and color.
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To maintain an uncluttered look in the kitchen, Finne added a large pantry behind it. It’s 22 feet long and has designated space for small appliances.
The kitchen has a monolithic look. The cabinetry is European beech. “It has a very tight graining pattern to it that is very beautiful,” Finne says. Mitered edges and a recessed base give the quartz island the look of a floating block of stone.
“The island is solid,” Finne says. “The contrasting element is a glass breakfast counter that wraps the corner.” The architect also designed the custom steel light fixture over the island.
The kitchen has a monolithic look. The cabinetry is European beech. “It has a very tight graining pattern to it that is very beautiful,” Finne says. Mitered edges and a recessed base give the quartz island the look of a floating block of stone.
“The island is solid,” Finne says. “The contrasting element is a glass breakfast counter that wraps the corner.” The architect also designed the custom steel light fixture over the island.
Finne repeated the same light fixture in a shorter length over the dining table, which ties it to the kitchen. He also designed the table, which has curvilinear metal legs.
Finne calls this light fixture the Pulse; its asymmetrical forms were inspired by Constantin Brancusi’s Endless Column sculpture. “His sculpture has a pulsating in-and-out shape to it and in his mind it could extend to the sky and never stop,” Finne says. “On these fixtures, the light kind of pulses in and out. There’s a continuous LED line punctuated by little round lights.”
Here’s a look at the rear facade of the house, which looks down the meadow. Finne composed the window mullions in a pleasingly rhythmic pattern. “They lend another level of detail to the house,” he says.
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Not sure where to start on your home project? Learn the basics
“While this is a house in the woods, it’s also in a clearing,” Finne says. “I wanted to take advantage of that view with the stairs.” The staircase has open risers that allow natural light to permeate through the wall of glass. “Steel supports allow the treads to float,” Finne says.
The pattern on the hot-rolled blackened steel was inspired by a museum field trip. “This pattern was really unusual for me, as it has an anthropomorphic feel to it,” Finne says. “I was stunned by an Aboriginal art exhibition I’d seen. It inspired this pattern, which has a primitive artistic feel to it. It’s as though there are little men marching up the stairs with you.”
Finne designed the pattern, sent his CAD files over to the fabricator, and it was laser-cut from his renderings.
Finne designed the pattern, sent his CAD files over to the fabricator, and it was laser-cut from his renderings.
Finne also designed the sapele wood hand railing. He gave it an asymmetric shape that follows the grip of a hand. The custom shape could not be accommodated at the point where the railing turns at the landing because of the tight radius required. So Finne took it to a 1¼-inch rounded shape to seamlessly transition around the corner.
The primary suite is on the first floor. “It looks out into the tranquil forest setting,” Finne says. “The entire house is permeated by natural light everywhere. The long, horizontal windows bring light onto the vanity counter.”
He floated the European beech vanity on a steel frame. The large mirror mimics the windows and has integrated LED lighting for a minimalist look.
Like the kitchen island, the quartz countertop has a mitered edge. “I like to use a 2-inch thickness on engineered quartz because it lends a feeling of solidity and quality,” Finne says.
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He floated the European beech vanity on a steel frame. The large mirror mimics the windows and has integrated LED lighting for a minimalist look.
Like the kitchen island, the quartz countertop has a mitered edge. “I like to use a 2-inch thickness on engineered quartz because it lends a feeling of solidity and quality,” Finne says.
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A minimalist bathtub serves as sculpture in the room. The homeowners can enjoy views of the forest and the meadow while having a soak.
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Bainbridge Island, Washington
Size: 4,000 square feet (372 square meters); four bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Architect: Nils Finne of Finne Architects
Contractor: Steve Fradkin of Fradkin Fine Construction
After a long approach up a steep driveway through the trees, you arrive at the house, set in a clearing at the top of a knoll. The home’s siting takes advantage of the existing clearing and of being on the highest point on the 3-acre property. “The house faces south, and a meadow tumbles down from it,” Finne says. “We spent a lot of time visiting the site and talking about what the house would be. Then I developed two or three radically different approaches to the home’s design.”
They landed on this one, with a long bedroom wing located on the western side of the house (to the right in this photo). Finne dubbed the south-facing portion on the east side of the house the “living pavilion.” That space includes the living room, the kitchen and the dining area within an open plan. There’s a glazed entry between the bedroom wing and the living pavilion. The living pavilion is punctuated by five light monitors, the dormer-like elements seen along the roofline. The brick-covered portion seen here is the pantry.
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