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At Las Rocas, you always have two views: the lake and the rocks, which was the impetus for erasing the corners of the home. “The corner openings were a must for this project, because they really connect you to the outside,” says architect Ignacio Urquiza.

When the couple bought the home, the yard had mature native Ash, Oak, Cedar, and Douglas Fir trees, and a Japanese-inspired garden.

Clerestory windows bring natural light into the entryway and living room.

Programs including an expanded living room, dining room and traditional Japanese tearoom was incorporated into the traditional four-square layout.

When designing the shutters, privacy was a concern, but so was allowing the right amount of daylight in, especially on rainy, gloomy days. Leader and Sarah liked the way the circular cutouts created balls of light that danced around the room.

The floor-to-ceiling windows let in sunset light and glimpses of downtown.

When it rains, water spilling off the roofs creates reflecting pools.

The designer’s brother, Václav Valda, carved the cabinets for the container house using a milling cutter.

A spiral staircase runs through the center of the house, serving as a chimney that pulls cool air up from the ground floor as hot air exits through windows on the top level.

Eric built a custom bookshelf for one side of the room, using the salvaged kitchen cabinets for the base and adding an arched detail that extends across the ceiling.

Around several of the facades, the louvered exterior folds up like a garage door, opening the home even more to the elements and island breezes. The motorized folding doors operate off of a counterweight system.

For the living room, Dovetail’s metal shop fabricated a custom fireplace to go between the Quantum windows. The steel surround is coated in an antique black finish to complement the stained cedar wall.

Andrew worked with