OLYMPIC PENINSULA RESIDENCE
Port Angeles, WA
3,136 SF

Perched on an ocean bluff above the Strait of Juan de Fuca, this house was designed for a Los Angeles couple who enjoyed escaping the bustling city for the remote landscapes of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The design embraces the region’s cherished ecology, integrating the house into the old-growth forest sustainably and siting it to minimize tree loss and preserve vulnerable bluff habitats while still offering panoramic views of Vancouver Island.

To enable the house to withstand the harsh marine environment without needing frequent maintenance and re-siding, TGA clad the structure with a highly durable and water-resistant fiber cement panel system. Inside, the house’s elongated bar shape allows for panoramic views that encompass the entirety of the landscape, spanning from the forest in one direction and the ocean in the other.

ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE SITING

Following a series of studies conducted in collaboration with consulting forester Kenneth D. Gilbertson, TGA set the house 50 feet back from the bluff and oriented it to take advantage of existing view corridors past the trees to Vancouver Island. TGA also developed a re-vegetation plan that planted native shrubs in the zone between the house and the bluff, helping stabilize the existing ecosystem.