North Bend House by Johnston Architects

The owners of this house – Scott Schell and Margaret Wheeler – are mountain guides and their terms, in the hills Snoqualmie, is very close to their workplace. The house of 195 m2 was designed by the firm Johnston Architects, Seeking to accommodate the practical demands of its users with a sustainable design.

It was built with some materials found on the ground. Trees or fallen branches in previous storms given the possibility to use the material, but also some firs and cedars were cut and processed for use timber. The interior features the use of wood as main material, making it warm enough spaces with openings into the woods outside.

A geothermal heat pump source that delivers power to the house, complete with a pre-heated water system based on solar heat. This is compounded by the use of recycled materials, FSC certified materials and recycling of water; strategies that are the basis of LEED certification that will close the project.

We tried to incorporate the house to the natural topography of the land, so access is available at a second level by reducing the disruption of the existing environment. Added to this, two thousand plantations were made to reforest the land and soils to regenerate the native forest in their gardens.