Phase I includes approximately 75 single-family home sites. As part of this initial offering, twelve individual home designs were developed ranging from under 2,000 sf to nearly 4,000 sf to provide a range of layout, style, and size all within the umbrella of “Pacific Contemporary” design, emphasizing such goals as intelligent site design, a seamless connection between inside and outside spaces, locally available materials, and many specific sustainable systems and strategies.

The first home, “Courtyard House”, has been constructed in compliance with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for residences standards, and features many sustainable elements.

Featured in Residential Architecture, March 2008

This project was executed while Scott Allen was a Principal at Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects (OSKA). Scott Allen, principal designer in collaboration with Jim Olson, others. Interiors by OSKA (Presentation Center).

Descending the main stairs, one finds a series of oversized pocket doors that open to create a seamless transition to an outdoor entertainment area and the lakefront lawn. This level also houses a catering kitchen, home theater, and guest rooms. The owner’s suite occupies the entire upper level and includes a library, piano room, master suite, spa and sundeck. A key feature of the central space is a three-story vitrine for the display of the owners’ extensive collection of art glass.

Exterior materials were selected for their durability and natural warmth, including colored precast concrete, cedar, copper, and limestone. A geothermal heat source and operable passive ventilation are examples of sustainable strategies used in this house.

This project began at Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen and was completed by Scott Allen Architecture.  Scott Allen, primary designer. Interiors by OSKA. Dining table, coffee table and credenza designs by Scott Allen.

Click on any image above to view work.

A Question of Context

Contemporary Solutions for an Olympic Peninsula Home

Renovation Architecture and Interior Design by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Landscape Architecture by Allworth Nussbaum/Text by Therese Bissel/Photography by Erhard Pfeiffer

Of the now double-height entrance, Allen says, "The point of the aperture is to feel as little interruption as possible going from outdoors to indoors," and idea found throughout the house.

In the sometimes kaleidoscopic process of executing a residential addition, there comes that moment of truth: Would it, ultimately, make more sense to begin all over with a completely new structure than to proceed with a composite? It’s “the hinge point/’ as architect Scott Allen describes it, “when you have to balance the embodied energy and capital costs of the original building with the overlay of invested time and effort in the current scheme-when you’re sort of halfway across the river.”

His remodel of and addition to a five-year-old Port Ludlow, Washington, house fell subject to such a review–and more than once, as deficiencies were discovered (it was out of plumb and out of square; it was not as solidly built as it appeared–even the stucco wainscot crumbled when lightly tapped). “There were times when we wondered if we should just tear the whole thing down and start from scratch,” confirms Allen, a principal of Seattle-based Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen. But the virtues-a good indoor-outdoor relationship, a logical spatial organization, a nicely volumetric main living area, a well-located kitchen-trumped the ills. And, perhaps most important, Allen remained committed to his initial appraisal of the house as “a place we could hang some pretty interesting new architecture on.”

The great room

The resolution-now a contemporary retreat-is a creaseless incorporation of the existing into the freshly conceived. Allen’s group did a comprehensive reinforcing and cosmetic makeover of the original structure while growing the square footage by approximately 60 percent to include the kinds of spaces and amenities desirable to a family with two teenage sons. The key determinant in virtually every aspect of the remodel was the setting. The house would fuse with its Olympic Peninsula site, a wooded five-acre bluff overlooking Admiralty Inlet, in ways not possible in its previous incarnation.

Approached from a long, sylvan driveway (“old nurse logs and fallen cedars–Pacific Northwest Tolkienesque,” suggests Allen), the entrance is marked by a steel-and-diffused-glass canopy, a form repeated on the opposite, water side of the house; the paving, too, is consistent from front to back, leading the eye all the way through and reinforcing the basic outside-inside-out-again architectural expression. Allen capitalized on the double-height volume just inside the front door by installing a steel armature that creates the seemingly floating “Zen space,” where a large window.contributes southern light (a premium on the north-facing waterfront) to the circulation node below. There, the overhead piece gives the entrance “a more human scale,” notes Allen, who says he likes “bringing people in low.”

Allen and interior designer Charlie Fairchild, also of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen, slected a palette that evokes the surrounding landscape–and is reminiscent of classic beach houses. Lounge chair and barstool from A. Rudin. Sofa fabric, Rogers & Goffigon. Tufenkian carpet.

To the immediate right are the public spaces (living, dining, kitchen); past the corridor to the left is the private realm–day room and two bedrooms.The architect performed a modified version of what as a young carpenter in the 1970s he learned as a “planectomy” (cutting a roof in half and lifting it to make a second level). He raised the roof that adjoins the master suite and added an upper-level day/guest room and bath, as well as the hallway to the Zen space. To allow, on the other end of the building, for the spacious teen-friendly recreation room and the service areas-and’, above, the media room–he relocated the garage in one piece rather than tearing it down. “Our big green move,” he says, “is that the whole house·was recycled.”

Allen relied on recycled mountain ash for the floors and locally sourced Douglas fir for the ceiling beams and battens, "natural materials," he observes, "used in a natural way. It's a simple idea by pretty hard to pull off." The dining table, designed by his firm, is also of Douglas fir.

The materials and colors-interior and exterior (stained cedar in a serious upgrade of the old siding, new metal roofs and window trim)-were selected for their resonance with the dual-ecology site. At one point, Allen gathered rocks, shells and driftwood from the beach and bark from the woods, laying the weathered pieces side by side as inspiration for the muted, richly contextual palette. The locally sourced Douglas fir ceiling beams and battens and the casework (particularly prominent in the kitchen and the master suite) effect, together with the reclaimed-ash floor, a warm wood enclosure in the main living area. The generous use of wood (including the Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen-designed dining and sofa tables made of a single slab of Douglas fir, from which there was enough left over for a table for the game room) and the concrete-and-steel fireplace tie the living spaces in tone and texture to the outdoors, a connection heightened by oversize windows and glass doors.

Landscaping was integral to the holistic makeover, as there existed only an ornamental garden with no relationship to the woodlands. Randy Allworth, of the Seattle landscape architecture firm Allworth Nussbaum, conceived a natural progression from the outlying dense trees to the bluff. Leaving the forest as found, Allworth created a meadow with plantings suited to the cool, maritime climate, employing native grasses and ground covers as well as vine maples, huckleberry and other indigenous vegetation. His office designed the hardscape-precast-concrete-paved entrance path, private patios off the main-floor bedrooms, two terraces (the central one formerly a piecemeal grouping of wood platforms) and an upper deck-so that he “touched,” he says, “every square inch of property adjacent to the house.”

Allen sought to give his clients "a retreat–a place to unwind and recharge their batteries and create memories," he explains. Landscape architect Randy Allworth chose mostly native plants, which harmonized with Allen's vision for the house. Outdoor dinning table and chairs, Sutherland.

In discussing his clients’ expectations for the project, Allen speaks in broad terms. “It’s always situational,” he explains. “People start where they start. Our job is to pull the dreams out of their psyches and get them On paper. They have a mental inventory of domestic architecture-a rich attic of ideas and memories that pushes them forward. This is true for second homes even more so than for primary residences: that rich family memory of the place on the lake or in the forest.”

What the residence’s owners didn’t want-a point on which their architect was in complete agreement-was the grand lodge in the woods. “There’s a whole different psychology to that kind of building,” Allen says. “This house needed to work for the present and be commodious enough so that it could easily become their primary residence at some later point.” It also had to be a viable, aesthetically reasoned cohesion of old and new elements that would prove, indubitably, to merit the endeavor.

Scott D. Allen, AIA
Principal

Professional Experience:  2009 to present Scott Allen Architecture, Principal. 1985 to 2009 Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, Principal
1984 to 1985 Ibsen Nelsen & Associates, Architects and Planners
1982 to 1984 Raleigh Design Group

Selected Projects:
• Shek-O Residence, Hong Kong SAR, China
• Courtyard House, Blaine, WA
• Candela Hotel and Residences Concept Design, Seattle, WA
• Horizon at Semiahmoo, Blaine, WA
• Olele Point Residence, Port Ludlow, WA
• Calkins Point Residence, Mercer Island, WA
• Issaquah Highlands Residence, Issaquah, WA
• Zhongkai Sheshan Villas, Shanghai, China
• Seattle University School of Law, Seattle, WA
• Eastmont Senior Housing and Professional Offices Master Plan, East Wenatchee, WA
• Presentation Center, Horizon at Semiahmoo, Blaine, WA
• Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA (executive architect in collaboration with Antoine Predock Architect, Albuquerque, NM)
• U.S. Coast Guard Pier 36 Renovations, Seattle, WA
• Pratt Fine Arts Center Concept Plan, Seattle, WA
• Cliff House, Gig Harbor, WA
• Bear Park Residence, Woodinville, WA
• Gig Harbor Heritage Center Concept Plan, Gig Harbor, WA
• Washington State History Museum, Tacoma, WA (executive architect in collaboration with Moore/Andersson Architects, Austin TX)
• Christ Residence, Bellevue, WA
• Albrecht Residence, Bainbridge Island, WA
• Albrecht Condominium, Seattle, WA
• One Carillon Point Condominiums, Kirkland, WA
• Overlake Park Presbyterian Church, Bellevue, WA
• St. Barnabas Episcopal Church Master Plan, Bainbridge Island, WA
• Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA
• The Clise Mansion Visitors Center, Redmond, WA
• Simons Residence at 98 Union, Seattle, WA
• Allen Residence, Bainbridge Island, WA
• Sammamish Hills Lutheran Church Master Plan, Sammamish, WA
• Applied Physics Laboratory Expansion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
• Washington Park Residence, Seattle, WA
• Residence at 163 East 64th Street, New York, NY
• Renovations to Beekman Place Townhouse, New York, NY
• Offices for Spanish International Network, New York, NY
• Rowe/Wilkie Cabin, Lake Wenatchee, WA
• Renovations to Foster Avenue Residence, Sayville, NY
• Saratoga Passage Retreat, Langley, WA
• Westwood Marquis Expansion Master Plan, Los Angeles, CA
• Renovations to the Playboy Building, West Hollywood, CA
• Princeton Green Housing Master Plan, Wenatchee, WA
• Renovation to Beach Road Residence, Capistrano Beach, CA
• The Aerie Residence, Mt. Charleston, Nevada

Registration: Washington, 1988
Nevada, 2006
Member, National College of Architectural Registration Boards

Education: Master of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania 1982
Bachelor of Arts, University of Washington 1980

Select Awards: AIA Architecture Firm Award, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, 2009
Northwest Design Awards, Cliff Dwelling, Gig Harbor WA, 2006
Northwest Design Awards, Northwest Family Retreat, 2006
Seattle Homes & Lifestyles magazine, “Seattle 100: The people, places & things that define Seattle Design,” Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, 2006
School of Law, Seattle University, Seattle AIA Chapter, Merit Award, 2001
School of Law, Seattle University, Masonry Institute of Washington, Citation Award, 2001
Washington State History Museum, Masonry Institute of Washington, Honor Award, 1997
Overlake Park Presbyterian Church, Seattle AIA Chapter, Project of the Month, 1991
Overlake Park Presbyterian Church, Seattle AIA Chapter, Citation Award, 1990

Affiliations: Member: American Institute of Architects (Seattle Chapter)

Boards: President of the Board of Trustees, Arcade Magazine, 2008; Vice-President of the Board of Trustees, Arcade Magazine, 2007; Advisory Board, Colloquium, 2007 – 2008; Arcade magazine, Board Member 2005-present; Bainbridge Island Arts & Humanities – Public Art Committee Board Member 2004-2007.

Juror: Northwest Design Awards, 2009;  American Institute of Architects Spokane WA Chapter Design Awards, 2008;  American Institute of Architects SW Washington Chapter Awards, 2006 and 2001.

Teaching/Instruction: University of Washington, Graduate Design Studio, Fall,1999; University of Washington, Graduate Thesis Juries; University of Oregon, Graduate Thesis Juries.

Fine Arts: Contributing artist, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery, Bainbridge Island WA, 2001 to present. Contributing Artist, The Gallery at Loomis Hall, Blaine, WA, 2009.

Presentations &
Lectures: Design Colloquium 2008: ‘Design First’ Firms, Panelist, 2008; Southern Arizona Chapter of the AIA, “Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen at 40,” May 16, 2007, Seattle Design Center Career Day, “Cliff House, Gig Harbor Washington – How a Small House Lives Large,” Lecturer, 2006; Bricks, Bytes & Continuous Education (Seattle, WA), “A Case Study: Seattle University School of Law,” Lecturer, 2006; AIA Seattle, “Designing China: Northwest Expert Exports,” Guest Speaker, 2006; Tacoma Art Museum, Structural Engineers Association of Washington Annual Meeting, “The synthesis of the real and the phenomenological in architecture,” Featured Speaker, May 2003; AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Conference, Panelist & Guest Speaker, 2002; The Paul Allen Foundation, “Capital Projects Planning,” 2002; The Portland Energy Conservation Institute, NW Conference on Commissioning, “Case Study: The Washington State History Museum,” Panelist, Oct. 1996.

Exhibits: Washington State University, Department of Architecture, “Selected Work: 1997-Now,” 2004; University of Washington, Department of Architecture, “Selected Work: 1997-Now,” 2004.

Selected
Bibliography: 2009
Bissell, Therese. “Rooted in Tradition.” Architectural Digest, August 2009, pp. 86 – 91
Teagarden, Rebecca “Mastering the Art of Modern Design.” Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine, March 8, 2009, pp. 12 – 21.
Hawkes, Colleen “Truth and Honesty.” Home & Architectural Trends, vol. 25.1, pp. 106-111.

2008
Bissell, Therese. “A Question of Context.” Architectural Digest, October 2008, pp. 234-241, 309.
Drueding, Meghan. “Green Horizon.” Residential Architect, March 2008, p. 17.
Bernstein, Fred A. “Best Practices: Flying High.” Architect, March 2008, p. 39.

2007
“100 New design ideas from the new AD 100.” Architectural Digest, Jan. 2007, p. 218.
“Activity Center,” Vacation Homes, Scott Allen. Custom Home, April 2007, p. 79.
Seattle Design Center. “Indoor/Outdoor Living in the Northwest,” Architecture, Scott Allen of Olson Sunberg Kundig Allen Architects., By Design, pp. 3-4.

2006
Boone, Mary. “Modern Ingenuity.” South Sound Home & Garden, Winter 05/06, pp. 30-39.
Crosbie, Michael J. Houses of God. Images Publishing, 2006, pp. 166-167.
Drueding, Meghan. “Cultural Exchange.” Residential Architect, Sept./Oct.
2006, p. 26-27.
Fier, Amanda. “15 to Watch.” Estates West, Fall 2006, pp. cover, 73.
Kennedy, Lindsay. “Seattle 100: The people, places and things that define Seattle Design.” Seattle Homes & Lifestyles, Feb. 2006, pp. cover, 54-55.
“OSKA Winners.” Town & Country, Jan. 2006, p. 87.
Schaefer, Jennifer. “Top 50 Architects.” Northwest Home & Garden, Nov./Dec. 2006, pp. 42-45.
“Woodsy Beauty.” Sunset Outdoor Living, Sept. 2006, pp. 34-35.

2005
Beaver, Robyn. 100 more of the world’s best houses. Images Publishing, 2005, pp. 20-21, 244-247.
Boschetti, Joseph. Water Spaces 4. Images Publishing, 2005, p. 134.
Fredericks, Kim. “Location, Location, Location.” The Robb Report Collection, March 2005, pp. cover, 11-12.
Mackey, Mary-Kate & Jim McCausland. “Northwest Dream.” Sunset, Sept. 2005, pp. cover, 122-123.
“OSKA to design homes in China.” Daily Journal of Commerce, Feb. 9, 2005, p. 2.

2004
“A&E Perspectives: Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen.” Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, Nov. 18, 2004, pp. cover, 27.
Crosbie, Michael J. Architecture for the books. The Images Publishing Group, 2003 (released 2004), pp. 128-133, 208-211.
“Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects tapped for cultural project.” Contract, Feb. 13, 2004.
Weber, Cheryl. “Northern Lights.” Residential Architect, Sept./Oct. 2004,
pp. cover, 76-87.

2003
Diana Mosher. “Dollars and Sense.” Contract, June 2003, pp. 103, 105.
Eskenazi, Stuart and Heather MacIntosh. “Not so great expectations: capital campaigns before and after the boom.” Arcade, Winter 2003, pp. 35-36.
Ojeda, Oscar Riera, ed. Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects: Architecture, Art, and Craft. The Monacelli Press, 2001 (Released 2003).
Olson, Sheri. “Tacoma Art Museum, Washington.” Architectural Record, Aug., 2003, pp. 110-115.
“Pratt Seattle plan major addition.” Glass. Fall 2003 – #92, p. 14.

2002
Tollefson, Rodika. “Key Pen Museum wants more room.” The Peninsula Gateway, April 24, 2002, p. 15A.

2001
Kollie, Ellen. “A home for law.” College Planning and Management, Aug., 2001, p. 38.
Le Masurier, George. “Museum Unveiled.” The Peninsula Gateway, Oct. 24, 2001, pp. 1A, B10.

2000
Enlow, Clair. “A liveable law school at Seattle University.” Daily Journal of Commerce, Sept. 27, 2000, p. 5.
“Olson Sundberg name change.” Daily Journal of Commerce, Aug. 9, 2000, p. 5.
“The delight of a slow opera: an interview with Rick Sundberg, Tom Kundig and Scott Allen.” Daily Journal of Commerce, Nov. 16, 2000, p. 25-27.

1999
Richards, Hugh. “The Column is your friend. The Sun is your enemy.” Arcade, Winter, 1999, pp. 28-29.

1998
Ojeda, Oscar Riera, ed. Olson Sundberg Architects: Casas Internacional #59. Kliczkowski Publisher, 1998.

1997
“New Law School for Seattle U,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 5, 1997.

1996
Ivy,Robert. “Powerful Forms for a Hard-Working Town.” Architectural Record, Oct. 1996, pp. 70-77.

1995
“Copper Roof & Concrete Columns Contribute to New Tacoma Landmark,” Construction Data & News, September 11, 1995.

1993
“Stepping into History,” The News Tribune December 1993.

1991
“Luxury, Density Combined”, Daily Journal of Commerce, October 30, 1991.
“Condo Project for the Rich, if not Famous,” Daily Journal of Commerce, October 23, 1991.
“A Focus on Infinity,” Daily Journal of Commerce, June 5, 1991.

1990
“A Vessel of Light and Sound,” Daily Journal of Commerce, November 14, 1990.
“Two New Churches Artfully Transcend Primary Function as Seats of Worship,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 22, 1990.

Contact: Scott Allen Architecture
11574 Meadowmeer Circle NE
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

206-780-1122 office
206-913-9336 mobile
web: www.scottallenarchitecture.com
email: scottallenarchitecture@gmail.com

Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce

Interior design awards presented

October, 21, 2009

Callison’s interior design of the Providence System Office in Renton won the People’s Choice Award at the INawards presented presented
earlier this month in Seattle.

The Northern Pacific Chapter of the International Interior Design Association hosted the awards. Jurors were Jody Pene of GBD Architects, Brian Graham of Brian Graham Design and Chris Bardt of 3SIX0 Architecture.

NBBK Principal Chris Larson won an Honor Award for his career accomplishments and provocative approaches to conceiving interior space by integrating light, context, furnishings, art and other elements. TerrisDraheim Principal Terry Derry Draheim won the Industry Partner Award for this longtime role with the design community as a teacher, mentor and legislative advocate.

Dong Il of Cornish College of the Arts and Katie Doyle won Wilsonart International scholarships.

RESIDENTIAL: Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen designed the residential winner, a private Hong Kong villa on a rocky hillside overlooking the South China Sea.

Interior finishes are concrete, locally sourced limestone, glass wood and bronze. The central space has 25-foot ceilings and is flanked by ore intimate seating and dining areas.

The owner has most of the building materials and custom furniture shipped from Seattle. Craftspeople from the Pacific Northwest fabricated furnishings and finishes.

Jim Olson was the design principal and Scott Allen of Scott Allen Architecture was the managing principal. William Franklin and Wing-Yee Leung were project managers. T.S. Chu Architects Ltd., was the local architect and PCS Structural Solutions was the structural engineer. Jim Olsen was the lead on the interior design, and Carline Fairchild was the project manager.

Brianfield Limited was the contractor.

Suyama Peterson Deguchi won an honorable mention for a private residence in Seattle’s Broadmoor neighborhood.

Olsen Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects Receives 2009 AIA Architecture Firm Award

Firm noted for its commitment to sustainable design

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Board of Directors (BOD) voted today for Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects to receive the 2009 AIA Architecture Firm Award. The distinction is based on its 35 years of consistently excellent work, including its seamless blending of architecture, art and craft; community involvement; attention to sustainable design; and nurturing of in-house talent.

The AIA Architectural Firm Award, given annually, is the highest honor the AIA bestows on an architecture firm and recognizes a practice that consistently has produced distinguished architecture for at least 10 years.

Partners Jim Olson; Rick Sundberg, FAIA, Tom Kundig, FAIA’ and Scott Allen, AIA, all graduates of the University of Washington, are known for their hands-on project involvement; deliberate efforts to share their knowledge with firm members, students, interns and clients; an intense collaboration with artists and crafters.

The firm’s commitment to sustainable design finds its roots win the firm Olsen founded in Seattle in 1971, which he based on two principles: buildings can serve a s bridge between nature and culture, and inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people’s lives. Carrying that concept into the firm, the principals remain committed to a democratic and populist office culture.

Known primarily for their integrating of Modern forms that blend artfully into remote, natural settings of the Pacific Northwest, the firm’s work is also adept at creating dynamic urban environments.

“Their residential work in particular reveals a fascination with craft and the material properties of architecture,” wrote Mark Robbins, dean of the Syracuse University School of Architecture in a recommendation letter. “Levers, racks, gears, out-sized hinges, and wall-size shutters improbably glide into place to frame sublime natural vistas. The dual American obsession of industry and nature are summed up immaculately in the smallest folly.”

Among more than 65 regional and national awards winners are:

• The Delta Shelter, Washington Sate, 2008 AIA National Honor Award
• The Brain, Seattle, 2004 AIA National Honor Award
• Chicken Point Cabin, Northern Idaho, 2003 AIA Northwest Region Honor Award
• Frye Art Museum, Seattle, 1997 AIA Seattle Honor Award
• Pike & Virginia Building, Seattle 1979 AIA Seattle Honor Award

Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects will be presented with the Firm Award during the American Architectural Foundation’s Accent on Architecture Gala in February. Previous recipients include Leers Weinzapfel, Moore Ruble Yudell, Murphy/Jahn, and KieranTimberlake. In recognition of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects legacy to architecture, their name will be chiseled into the granite Wall of Honor in the lobby of the AIA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

About the American Institute of Architects

For over 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. By using sustainable design practices, materials and techniques, AIA architects are uniquely poised to provide the leadership and guidance needed to provide solutions to address climate change. AIA architects walk he walk on sustainable design. Visit www.aia.org/walkthewalk

A series of oversized doors allows the house to literally open up to the site, allowing for a free flow between inside and outside. A large open breezeway is cut through the house to further reinforce this spatial flow.  This configuration also creates a separate wing that houses the master suite and a guest quarters with its own entrance on the upper level.

Strong, simple materials such as concrete and structural timbers form the ‘bones’ of this textured yet elegant house. A green roof, operable passive ventilation and a geothermal heat source are part of this home’s design.

This project began at Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen and was completed at Scott Allen Architecture. Scott Allen, primary designer.

 Artist’s Statement

Growing up in eastern Washington gave me a deeply-branded visual memory that continues to be a strong source of imagery for my work.  There is both clarity and mystery in that geography, with its seemingly endless spaces, sparse vegetation and often abrupt transitions from one geologic element to another.  Light fills and illuminates these spaces as it plays off the land in endless variation.

Peoples’ marks on these landscapes are especially obvious.  Roads, buildings, and fields form strong counterpoints to the natural landscape.  The eye is drawn to these kinds of elements, whether it is the verticality of grain elevators set against a flat field, a straight road or fence running through the land’s undulations, or an abandoned building.   These marks can also suggest a history or narrative, and allow for individual interpretation in the mind of the viewer.

As experiences, these landscapes can evoke feelings of loneliness and apprehension, as well as peaceful feelings of solitude and freedom, and it is within those emotions, and in their inherent contradictions, that the work is set. 

 Please contact me about other available work, commissioned work, and future exhibits.

voice                206.780.1122 office     206.780-1122 mobile

web                 scottallenarchitecture.com                                        

e-mail              scottallenarchitecture@gmail.com

The entertaining and private living spaces are on a single level, and the garage, servants’ quarters and other support spaces occupy a lower level, tucked into the sloping site.

Awarded Best in Residential Category, 2009 International Interior Design Association, Northern Pacific Chapter.  See News and Recognition section for more information.

Featured in Architectural Digest, August 2009

This project was executed while Scott Allen was a Principal at Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects (OSKA).  Scott Allen, co-principal in collaboration with Jim Olson, principal designer. Interiors by OSKA.  Benjamin Benschneider, photography.

The design solution makes the roof of the new structure an extension of the upland lawn, with a glass-enclosed elevator accessing the two levels below.  To the south, an outdoor living space is set between the house and a new boathouse.  Stairs that lead down to the water form a series of decks, terraces, and bridges for living and entertaining. This area features a wood-burning pizza oven and an outdoor fireplace.

Inside, the main level has the feel of a boat’s cabin, with Douglas fir for ceilings, walls, and trims. Large, oversized windows and doors invite the outside in, and allow for a completely free flow during the warm months.  The exterior materials were selected for their abilities to withstand the environment, including copper, concrete, metal window cladding, and cedar.  Sustainable techniques such as sunscreens, a green roof, and complete envelope integrity are featured.

Northwest Design Awards, Outdoor Living, 1^st Place, 2006

Featured in PMG’s Home and Garden, Winter 2005/2006, other publications

This project was executed while Scott Allen was a Principal at Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects (OSKA). Scott Allen, principal designer. Interiors by OSKA. Tim Bies, photography.