The design breaks the massing into two distinct volumes separated by a central light-well courtyard. This move sacrifices a small amount of square footage to gain a massive amount of environmental quality, allowing southern light to penetrate deep into the ground floor kitchen and living areas while maintaining privacy from the street. The result is a home that feels expansive and airy, defying its 18-foot wide footprint.

The "Side-Core" Efficiency. On a narrow lot, circulation is the enemy of usable space. Traditional layouts often place stairs in the center, chopping the house into small, isolated rooms.

Our strategy pushes the "service core"—staircase, powder room, and mechanical chase—tight against the northern property line. This creates an unobstructed "living bar" along the south face. The line of sight extends from the front entry all the way to the rear garden, creating a continuous visual axis that makes the 18-foot width feel double its size. The detached ADU mirrors this logic, providing a flexible income unit that shares the design language without intruding on the main home's privacy.

The Deep Threshold. The facade utilizes a charred cedar (Shou Sugi Ban) rainscreen, chosen not just for its striking aesthetic, but for its natural resistance to rot and insects—essential for the Pacific Northwest climate.

This wall section illustrates the "Deep Threshold" concept: a continuous layer of exterior rigid insulation wraps the structure, eliminating thermal bridges. The window is recessed deep into the assembly, protecting the glazing from direct rain and creating a shadow line that gives the facade a sense of heavy, permanent materiality. This is high-performance building science expressed as architectural texture.