The owners of this home, one a professional cyclist and the other an accomplished regional racer, live a life of extremes. They have sought out their true passions and done everything they can to blur the boundary between pleasure and pain, work and play.

They wanted their home to be located in inner southeast Portland within easy biking distance of their downtown office, possibly with views of the tallest buildings. At the same time, they wanted it to support their love of nature.

Fittingly, the design of their house blurs the boundary between the city and the landscape. From the ground floor courtyard to the highest roof deck, space and light are manipulated to create spaces at once connected to the glimpses of sky, city and horizon, while maintaining privacy from the immediate urban environment.

A wood wall spirals around the narrow 44-foot wide site. Within this perimeter boundary a stand a series of large stucco walls and a massive columnar fireplace that rises through all floors of the house. Glass fills the gaps between these freestanding elements, creating a weather enclosure within the larger space formed by the walls. This space is the most fundamental to the design and function of the house. Within this room there is a perception of being contained within a private compound, disconnected from the immediate environment, with views mostly of the sky.

A vertically proportioned box clad in custom milled cedar channel siding rests on the ground floor stucco walls, cantilevering to create covered parking and entry areas. Interior space flows between interlocking double height spaces. Windows are placed to wash light seamlessly into the interior, reducing contrast in the glare producing Pacific Northwest light. Sliding exterior louvered sunscreens offer temperature and light control when needed, working in concert with thermal mass on the ground floor and an operable skylight on the roof to encourage passive heating and cooling.

Sustainability and energy efficiency are paramount with a super air tight envelope, radiant heat, heat recovery, high performance glass, FSC certified wood throughout, green roof, permeable paving and passive heating and cooling strategies.

When inside one is aware of the surrounding landscape at all times, whether through a framed view of a nearby tree, the sky or a panorama of the distant hills above Portland.

Project Team: Corey Martin, Ben Kaiser, Scott Mannhard
Photography: Ty Milford (images 1-12)