This “lovely little family house,” as the judges described it, is light and bright despite restrictions that dictated a long, deep footprint of 1,200 square feet. The roughly north-south-oriented lot aligns with high-up views of downtown Portland to the west and Mount St. Helens to the east, and so does the house. Its form-defining east- and west-facing shed roofs act as light monitors that let in morning and late afternoon sun. They correspond with stair halls that channel light into opposite sides of the floor plan.
“From the primary bedroom on the east, light washes down through a three-story stair hall,” says Chris Brown, AIA. “The reverse effect occurs as light from the client’s office flows down through the entry stair, a double-height volume. Those alternating shed roofs almost become like catcher’s mitts for light.”
The materials are as restrained as the structure. An ode to the client’s Swedish heritage, the shell’s stacked insulated concrete form blocks are covered with plaster inside and out. Combined with white oak casework, the palette “is so reduced it became a study in tones and the way light falls,” Chris says.
“They distributed the materials so that inside and outside feel like they work well together,” a jury member said. “There’s a thoughtful placement of windows, not just a wall-of-glass kind of approach but making every window count.”
Citation
Custom Urban House
Observation Studio
Tonal House
Portland, Oregon
Project Credits
Architect: Chris Brown, Observation Studio (formerly Linden Brown), Portland, Oregon
Builder: Callum Clark, Structure Build, Portland
Interior designer: Sara Bergqvist, Hemma Staging, Portland
Landscape designer: Wesley Younie, Portland
Project size: 3,600 square feet
Site size: 0.16 acre
Construction cost: $360 per square foot
Photography: Lara Swimmer Photography
Key Products
Cabinetry: Custom by Callum Clark, Anthony Fodero
Cladding: Integral stucco
Cooktop/Cooking ventilation: Bosch
Countertops: Caesarstone
Dishwasher: Bosch
Entry doors/hardware: Jeld-Wen, Emtek Hardware
Faucets: Kallista, Crosswater
Fireplace: Valor Fireplaces
Flooring: Solid rift-cut and quarter-sawn white oak
Interior finish materials: Plaster
Lighting: Nomad, Cedar & Moss, Ferm LIVING
Lighting control systems: Lutron
Millwork: Custom white oak
Ovens: Bosch
Refrigerator: Dacor
Sinks: Franke, Icera, custom concrete
Toilets: Icera
Tub: ADM, Fleurco
Vanities: Custom concrete
Washer/dryer: LG
Windows: Jeld-Wen