PLEASURE POINT SITE
Bellevue, Washington

On this site a series of interconnected outdoor rooms are created using shotcrete walls and planters, enormous boulders, and a water feature leading from the entry gate to the front door with views of the lake beyond. The interior terrazzo floors of the building were extended into the gardens using the architectural modules. The shotcrete bases of the buildings were extended into the landscape to create retaining walls, planters, and privacy screens. The result is a series of architectonic outdoor rooms of different scales and microclimates that blend seamlessly with the buildings.

As one moves through the garden a series of surprises are encountered: a water runnel, a water fall, stone steps leading into the lake, a cove carved from the lake shore and clad in granite boulders, a stone bench, an outdoor fire place and a platform floating above a hot tub. At each turn a new outdoor space and an unanticipated element presents itself. When looking through the glass pavilion of the main house, it is often difficult to tell what is inside and what is outside.

Groves of Honey Locust trees and native Shore Pines add privacy, block wind, and reduce the scale of buildings. Ornamental Grasses add movement in the ever-present wind, and moss-covered boulder fields provide habitats for flowering plants, vines, and ground covers.