The Clients’ home embodies contracting/developer greed ubiquitous in Seattle - boxes, rectangles, and finite allotments galore. This radial design in an underused 6ft wide North facing yard is now the Clients’ favorite space of their otherwise orthogonal home. Inside the two windows centered on the fire is the dining table. The natural gas custom concrete fire pit is the centerpiece to lots of non-prescriptive seating, dancing space, and steps radiating outwards.
This six foot wide northern side yard became the client's favorite part of their modern home.
Lots of non-prescriptive seating spaces.
This is a free standing deck lower than 18" off the ground. The decking and circular bench are made from Ipe hardwood. The live edge seating are Cedar slabs. The concrete fire pit is connected to the natural gas line.
The seating faces are sloped for ergonomic considerations. The seat is sloped 5° down, the backrest is sloped 15° back, and behind the legs is sloped 10° back.
3/16" white oak strips are soaked in water overnight for the wood fibers to bend smoothly.
The radial design is the lone non-orthogonal geometry - besides the rounded corner of the retaining wall and a ceiling lamp over the dining table inside the two windows mirroring the fire pit.
The construction process for each piece to be in-plane with its neighbors and equally spaced required at least one complete disassembly.
The steps' noses radiate from the fire pit.
Live edges of the cedar slabs are debarked and sanded round.
Fiberglass strands in the concrete fire pit top.
Making the formwork for the concrete fire pit. The outer curvature is refined with an angle grinder.
The new fence adds desired privacy, visual depth via playful reflections of light, and geometric rhythm countering the space's tunnel-like linearity.
This is the complex of four homes where this project is built. Spatial and appliance geometries are the same.