Leah Martin, Founding Principal at Allied8, and her husband, Vikram Prakash, Professor of Architecture at the UW, share three children and an extended family who love to gather together. But, hosting at their home in Seattle could feel chaotic within the confines of their busy lives. After a trip to Orcas Island, they began fantasizing about a place where the family could get away from the distractions of the city and connect more fully with each other. The six-acre property they fell in love with aggressively slopes to the sea, with only approximately 1000 square feet of flat, buildable space. But Martin didn’t want to disrupt all that footage – for good reason. “This relatively flat section of the property sits on the northern side of the ridge. There is a large log there that, for years, neighbors would sit on to take in the view,” said Martin. “We decided to keep that as an ‘untouchable’ piece of local history where it now resides at the front of our home.” At the same time, it was important for Martin not to disrupt the natural environment, which left her with some building challenges. Namely, how to situate the home with the least amount of footprint. The result is a floating structure where about one-third of the ground floor footage extends over the ridge. This was accomplished by a slender steel framework connecting with the ground in only six places.
Fortunately, the island’s bedrock supports this structural approach, and local builder Drew Reed of C.A. Reed Construction was the right fit for the challenge. “The unique thing about this build is that there is no concrete,” said Reed. “We have six steel columns anchored in bedrock – utilizing 48 two-inch diameter stainless steel anchors set with epoxy securing the columns to bedrock. It was exciting to bring four 45-foot-long steel beams up a Jeep trail.”
“Drew Reed is amazing,” said Martin. “He was the only contractor on the island able to assemble the steel foundation structure.”
Additionally, the home was built on a modest budget for a custom single-family home on an island in the middle of nowhere—at $750 per square foot, that was around $500 a square foot below the usual cost to build on Orcas Island.
Martin achieved the savings by simplifying the interior and choosing her moments. For example, the home uses exposed plated trusses, typically spaced 24 inches apart. Martin laminated two trusses together, which increased the spacing to 48 inches, intensifying the experience of height in the loft space.
The loft’s inexpensive building materials are all painted a Benjamin Moore white to reduce the competing textures, including the underside, so they don’t distract from the more sophisticated finishes of the main floor, including the white oak floors.
The linear kitchen has no blind corners, complicated islands or edges, simplifying the installation of custom cabinetry by Belmont Cabinets.
Clever built-ins, including a triple-decker, double bunk bed, generous custom daybed by Belmont Cabinets with PoliHome Design, tuck-away ladder, and flexible sleeping arrangements mean large gatherings are easily accommodated in the modest 1,300 square foot platform house.
Martin and Prakash added special touches to elevate the home’s interiors and make it uniquely theirs. The blown glass pendant over the dining is from Seattle artist Julie Conway, who Martin has worked with on other projects. “This was a reject from another custom project that we thought was exquisite,” Martin said. “It’s a huge globe with gold leaf smelted into the molten glass; then Julie rolled the molten glass in river rock. The dented texture across the surface creates amazing shadows at night.”
The art and featured furniture pieces belong to Prakash, the grandson of Aditya Prakash, the renowned Indian modernist architect.
But it’s the view that takes center stage, explains Martin. “Whenever we invite someone up for the first time, watching their reaction when they step into the home is my favorite thing.”
PROJECT SOURCES
ARCHITECT & INTERIOR DESIGN
Allied8
allied8.com
CONTRACTOR
C.A. Reed Construction
careedconstruction.com
PAINT
Benjamin Moore
benjaminmoore.com
