Lone Madrone, Orcas Island

Located on a rocky, wind-swept south facing shoreline, this retreat home is nestled into the landscape to harmonise with its surroundings and minimise exposure to weather. The house is a vacation retreat for a family of four who desired a low-impact home with strong connections to the land and sea. Designed by Heliotrope Architects and Ore Studios the site is within the San Juan Islands National Monument, with extremely sensitive shorelines and marine environment, hence an understanding of near-shore ecology greatly impacted the design. To avoid habitat loss for near-shore insects, a critical food source for endangered juvenile Chinook salmon, a garden roof was seeded with native, drought tolerant vegetation. This assembly replaces over 90% of the vegetative footprint lost to construction. The firm worked as efficiently as possible to minimise the structural footprint and massing. The result was a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home that feels much larger than its modest 1,600-square-foot size would suggest.

The design is based on a simple ‘wedge’ shape, mimicking the hillside slope beyond, and tucked into a natural depression in the shoreline to diminish its visual impact. The living spaces open completely on north (garden) and south (water) sides via a custom lift-slide door system. The bedrooms focus primarily on the more private, forested slope to the west and the kitchen opens onto an adjacent rock promontory to the east. Due to the extreme weather exposure of the site, major openings are paired with rolling wall panels to protect them from punishing winter storms, as well as to provide security when unoccupied. The finishing palette consists of local materials, including Douglas fir for the floors and trim, western red cedar for the siding, walls and ceiling cladding, and Pacific madrone for the furniture.