Project location:         Mount Vernon, WA

Partner in Charge:      Adair Orr

The McLean Road residence was designed for a small urban lot in a flood plain.  The site was framed by mature trees and had never been developed.   Room for a large garden and a metalworking studio at grade combined with the need to elevate the home above potential flood waters generated a very vertical building with a small footprint.  The structure was designed largely around salvaged material.  A robust structural steel frame at grade supports two stories of conventional wood framing.  Large south-facing glazing floods this project with light and passive solar gain.  A hydronic radiant heating system is integrated into the structural concrete pan deck.  The canopies of the adjacent trees proved a privacy screen and a sense of enclosure for the elevated living areas.