Architects & FirmsStudio Modh ✕

Location: Winthrop, Washington

Project size: 1,900 square feet (interiors); 1,000 square feet (porches)

Program: In search of a calmer life, a client and her dog settled in the rural Methow Valley in Washington State. Having grown up with a love of hiking and the outdoors, she commissioned Studio Modh to design a primary residence that would feel connected to nature, warm during snow-heavy winters, and would be safe from increasingly prevalent wildfires.

Design Solution: The house, named by the client’s parents for its expansive views in all directions, is organized into three volumes surrounding a central living room. Each volume contains different functions—one a guestroom and den, another the primary suite, and the last a mudroom and the kitchen. Simple, repetitive trusses support a low-slung shed roof that evokes the slopes of the surrounding foothills.

The design of the living area helps establish a connection with the landscape outside. An oversized clerestory caps the room, framing the ever-changing sky and balancing indoor light levels. On a cloudy day, the space can feel somber and quiet—on a bright, sunny day, it can feel luminous and dynamic, with shadows coursing across the wood-clad walls.

Photo © Lara Swimmer

Structure and Materials: The material palette creates a play of color with the changing seasons. Exterior walls and overhangs pair dark, charred cedar with warm, oiled cedar. In fall, these hues blend into the landscape, while in winter, they offer a rare spot of color. Interior spaces are clad in a close cousin of cedar: Knotty alder. Occasionally, these walls extend outward as slatted screens, providing a shower privacy, enclosing a porch, or hiding a visiting car in the driveway.

Additional Information
Completion date: August 2021
Site size: 20 acres
Total construction cost: $900,000
Client/Owner: Withheld

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Photos © Lara Swimmer

Image courtesy Studio Modh, click to enlarge

Credits

Architect:
Studio Modh Architecture P.L.L.C.

Project team:
Principal: Philip Ryan
Project architect: Chloe Lockman

Engineers:
Larry Zimmerlund, PE (structural)

Consultants:
Tara Burke, Lighthouse Land Planning, LLP

General contractor:
Schuler Build Co.

Photographer:
Lara Swimmer

Specifications

Exterior Cladding
Wood: Character Cedar (oiled), Charred Cedar with Linseed Oil
Moisture barrier: Ox Titan house wrap

Roofing
Metal: Taylor Metal Roofing (standing seam sheet metal roof)

Windows
Composite frame: Andersen Windows

Doors
Wood doors: Andersen and Simpson custom solid wood doors

Hardware
Locksets: Baldwin, Emtek
Pulls: Accurate, Omnia, Emtek
Other special hardware: Häfele

Interior Finishes
Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Schuler Build 
Wall coverings: Alder boards, painted gypsum wall board
Floor and wall tile: Porcelain, ceramic tile
Raisd flooring: Oak (engineered)

Lighting
Interior ambient lighting: Juno, Häfele, Kichler, Nora

Plumbing
Fixtures: Toto, Hans Grohe, Infinity Drain, Duravit