Magnolia House, Seattle Residence, Washington family home, WA Architects, US Real Estate, Property Photos

Magnolia House in Seattle

Apr 28, 2023

Design: ALCOVA architecture

Location: Seattle, Washington, USA

Photos by Pietro Potestà

Magnolia House, WA

The Magnolia House lot and project scope presented ALCOVA with a broad range of opportunities and it was seminal to a number of design considerations that marked our brand of architecture.

Low impact design shaped the project from its very core. The house that was previously on the lot included a rather deep basement; earth movement is often in the forgotten list of construction phases, and we decided to start right there. The lot slope favored a direct approach to the front street, but a steep connection to the alley and driveway access.

Our design split the structure in two bodies following the dual nature of the terrain, “swallowing” the South portion of the house to the level of the garage and adding two valuable opportunities for open decks accessible from the North structure. The dialogue and offset between these two bodies are the main frame for some architectural considerations that influenced so many other ALCOVA projects. We only mention some of them here, but we want to point out a few.

The materials of the façade express and relate to the bodies of the structure, changing sharply only when the volumes come to a natural intersection with other volumes. The recessed entryway provide an opportunity to define a middle-space between interior and exterior, increasing a welcoming factor, rather than imposing a strong limit of privacy to the open space of the street. The extended South overhang provides a nice partial cover to the upper deck, but it is mainly design as a passive solar element, welcoming winter sunlight, and limiting summer heat gain. The protruding South wall creates additional sun, wind and privacy protection to the upper deck and to the entryway and den.

The garage-top deck West wall increases privacy from the driveway and alley, while defining the deck space and its relationship with the interior of the house. The open stairway serves as a connecting and visual focus point for the main floors of the house and brings the open space of the first floor to the upper deck.

Magnolia House in Seattle, Washington – Building Information

Architecture: ALCOVA architecture – https://www.alcovaarch.com/

Project size: 4350 ft2
Site size: 8910 ft2
Completion date: 2011
Building levels: 3

Structural Engineering: Swenson Say Faget
General Contractor: ALCHEMY Building Company

Photography by Pietro Potestà

Magnolia House, Seattle, Washington images / information received 280423

Location: Seattle, Washington, United States of America

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