Most people wanted to have their contemporary home design represents their personality, providing them a quick profile, as well as an easy access of their daily routines. Recently, PATH Architecture has completed a contemporary house design for extreme sport lovers, one a professional cyclist and the other an accomplished regional racer. They wanted their home to be located in inner southeast Portland within easy biking distance of their downtown office, possibly with views of the tallest buildings. At the same time, they wanted it to support their love of nature.
The architect blurs the boundary between the city and the landscape as they manipulated space and light from the ground floor courtyard to the highest roof deck, to create spaces at once connected to the glimpses of sky, city and horizon, while maintaining privacy from the immediate urban environment.
A wood wall spirals around the narrow 44-foot wide site. Within this perimeter boundary a stand a series of large stucco walls and a massive columnar fireplace that rises through all floors of the house. Glass fills the gaps between these freestanding elements, creating a weather enclosure within the larger space formed by the walls. This space is the most fundamental to the design and function of the house. Within this room there is a perception of being contained within a private compound, disconnected from the immediate environment, with views mostly of the sky.
Sustainability and energy efficiency are paramount with a super air tight envelope, radiant heat, heat recovery, high performance glass, FSC certified wood throughout, green roof, permeable paving and passive heating and cooling strategies. When inside one is aware of the surrounding landscape at all times, whether through a framed view of a nearby tree, the sky or a panorama of the distant hills above Portland.
