ARBORETUM SITE
Madison Park, Seattle

This project involved the dramatic transformation of an innocuous 1950’s “ranchburger” into a contemporary garden pavilion. The interior of the existing house was completely re-programmed by master builder Jerry Fulks; connections with adjacent exterior spaces were created and enhanced at every opportunity.

An existing rockery and second-story entry were removed and replaced by a street-level entry courtyard. The property is detached from its suburban context with the use of architectural concrete garden walls, boulder fields, and a bosque of Globe Maple trees. Raw plaster walls and pale oak floors bounce light from the sunny upper garden through the tall doors and windows of the upper floor. Dark terrazzo floors, high garden walls, deep light wells, and the maple grove form intimate shadows on the ground floor and lower garden.

Illuminated pools in the upper and lower courtyards bounce lambent light off garden walls on rainy nights, and the scent of wooly thyme hangs in the air while crossing courtyard pavers on summer afternoons. The placement of windows, garden walls and trees was carefully orchestrated to borrow scenery from adjacent gardens and the Arboretum, while concealing adjacent houses and streets; the result is an oasis in the city.