Boundary Pool House

This pool house is conceived as a sculptural addition to a historic Seattle estate, designed to provide a serene summer retreat for a young family. The architecture strikes a balance between the traditional character of the original 1930s residence and a modern, minimalist sensibility. By utilizing a traditional palette of hand-applied stucco siding and a classic slate hip roof, the structure establishes an immediate material connection with the main house, ensuring the new intervention feels like a permanent and respectful evolution of the property.

The design logic is defined by a monolithic form that has been strategically "carved out" to create functional and atmospheric voids. A central arched portal serves as the primary transition, leading into the interior zone that blurs the line between indoor and outdoor space. This subtraction of mass continues with a dramatic central light well, which remains entirely open to the sky. This vertical aperture allows natural light to wash down the textured zellige tiled walls throughout the day, providing a direct, framed connection to the surrounding wooded canopy and the changing Pacific Northwest weather.

Functional amenities are seamlessly integrated into these carved volumes - the restroom and changing room are hidden, while a minimalist outdoor shower and pedestal wash basin are tucked into the sheltered alcoves, finished in a tonal, neutral palette that emphasizes the play on light and shadows. Nestled between the main house and woods, the pool house acts as an anchor for the pool.