FAUNTLEROY SITE
West Seattle

This site was designed in collaboration with architect George Suyama to demonstrate the power, mystery and magic of spatial and programmatic ambiguity. An opening in a bamboo clad concrete wall provides a glimpse into a moss covered auto court. A garden gate opens to reveal a spring box in a walled gravel courtyard. The sound of water directs one to a pond and floating deck adjacent to a sitting room with firebox and dinning table - half covered and half open to the sky. An interior soaking tub abuts an outdoor water box fed by a waterfall. A lily pond reflects the treetops adjacent to an historic plinth and staircase, leading to a shady patio and two historic cabins at the beach. The entire journey involves a series of framed views, borrowed scenery, the flow of water and a blending of architecture and landscape so seamless it is often difficult to tell if one is inside or outside.

The winner of an AIA Honor Award in 2003, architect jurors Shigeru Ban of Tokyo and Brigitte Shim of Toronto said of this project: “The Fauntleroy Residence stands out as an instance of masterful design, an achievement of international stature.Seattle's climate - mild, sometimes wet, sometimes dry - is welcomed with deep overhanging eves and the patient sequencing of rooms alternately open and enclosed, covered and uncovered. A continuous stream engages the house along its northern edge, narrowing and then pooling in the way that people, moving through the house, flow or pause and then gather. a world class achievement.“