Within the first few minutes of meeting the owner of this Seattle property, Olson Kundig principal/owner Kevin Kudo-King knew this project would be distinctive. “He asked for a glass of water and filled it with ice,” Kudo-King remembers. “Then he took out a motor and put it on top of the glass, and we watched it move up and down because of the temperature differential. It was unusual, to say the least.”

The global firm prides itself on cutting-edge structures, so Kudo-King wasn’t phased by this first impression. In fact, he was energized by it. “The owner is a thermodynamic engineer and an inventor, and he brought a level of curiosity to the project that was a lot of fun.”

The house itself, a dilapidated 1920s bungalow set in the picturesque neighborhood of Leschi, couldn’t be saved—even with the owner’s background. Starting with a blank slate meant that the team could try something new—and that was an opportunity to hold on to.

The sloping lot is set on a quiet cul-de-sac overlooking Lake Washington, which meant that the project could expand toward the view and not seem imposing from the street. The design team also planned to landscape the site so that the home would be grounded in a beautiful meadow. These measures ensured that this inventor’s hub would blend in with the rest of this historic neighborhood. On the inside, however, he would be free to express his individuality.

“He was eager to take risks,” Kudo-King says. “He wanted a house that expressed all of the ways it worked, and he was with us every step of the way to put all of those details together. It was almost as if we were building a lab—and there actually is one in the home.”

An oversized yellow door opens to a minimal interior palette of concrete, wood, and steel that intertwine in various forms throughout the interior. “He wanted the punch of darker colors, but he also wanted a balance of light and a clear connection to nature,” Kudo-King says, noting the high priority of sunlight amid Seattle’s famed rainy weather.

They agreed on a cantilevered, double-height living room as the showcase of this experiment, where floor-to-ceiling windows can be opened to passively cool the space and tie it seamlessly to an unobtrusive deck. The owner insisted on supporting the cantilever with a single 30-foot structural steel pipe, which encloses a Rumford masonry fireplace he designed.

“The main living space almost hovers above the landscaping to get views of the water,” Kudo-King says. “But it’s also suspended above the lower level of the property, which has a covered open-air area and an interior lab. The owner is an avid cyclist, and he asked for a place to host all of his biker buddies.”

The kitchen has lab-grade countertops and a Bunsen burner—a great detail for parties—while a custom steel staircase leads to a “think tank” library overhead. The owner specified various additions to the plans, including mechanized windows and roof hatches, a rainwater collection system, and a yard planted with native species that could naturally reseed. With all of this innovation, it’s no wonder the team was inspired during the installation, too.

“The craftsmen who built the stairs improvised with the steel grating surrounding the staircase to support the handrail, which is something we didn’t draw,” Kudo-King says. “It brings daylight into the lower level of the home.” The owner paid homage to these people inside the lower-level mechanical room, where controls for the home are labelled with their names.

The two-year project was finished in 2018, although Kudo-King knows that the home might never be officially complete. “I know that little things are always being added—that’s just his personality,” he says. “And that was the appeal of this project—a lot of terrific work and great ideas can come to a design when you don’t try to control everything.”

More from Olson Kundig:

A Seattle Family Breaks Free From Suburbia and Ventures Deep Into Nature

A Mesmerizing Cabin in Puget Sound Evolves Over Several Decades

Q&A: Tom Kundig on Why Buildings Should Move and Morph

Olson Kundig’s Renovated Seattle Office Has a Kinetic, Hydro-Powered Skylight

Project Details:

Architects of Record: Kevin Kudo-King, Tom Kundig (Design Mentor), Will Kemper, Michael Wright, Olson Kundig / @olsonkundig

Builder: E&H Construction

Structural Engineer: Monte Clark, MCE Structural Consultants

Civil Engineer: Ken Weirsma, Coughlin Porter Lundeen

Landscape Design: Olson Kundig

Lighting: Niteo Lighting / @niteolighting

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A Seattle Inventor’s Home Does Double Duty as a Working Laboratory