Garage

Ample windows cut into the north elevation of the Valentine House, behind which live the architects. The openings reveal lofty double-height spaces inside. The ground-floor garage often serves as a shop for architectural model-making. Photos by: Roger Davies

When the team chose to preserve the function of the rolling garage door, it proved to be one of the biggest design challenges of the project. Says Garcia, “We didn’t want it to roll back into the new living space because it would limit our lighting options for the room.” Thus, an unconventional exterior-track rolling door was conceptualized that would not cut into the interior volume. In the backyard that was preserved in the remodel, an olive tree provides natural shade. Maintaining the outdoor area was especially important to the kids as a play area, and Anthony, an avid cook and gardener.

Once the team decided to have the garage door roll up the outside of the structure, they imagined its upstairs portion could curve dramatically along a 27 degree angle. The old garage footprint and 6-foot-wide opening remained the same, and the original sectional garage door was repurposed.

One family in Seattle, Washington, looked past a sloping landscape and saw the opportunity to build their dream home. Resembling a modern-day metal treehouse, the Hale and Edmonds residence is nestled within the edges of a wooded park. The house’s exterior of paneled grey is perfectly balanced against the accent of the orange frame, proving that there’s a chance for subtlety with the bright color.

To allude to the nearby ocean, the architects designed a seaweed patterned for the interior of the garage door (seen here raised). It successfully reads like a leather padded wall and makes “the cube” feel that much more customized.