TREEHOUSE | SHED Architecture & Design

Treehouse is a single family residence located on a park in Seattle, WA. Built on an
inaccessible, steep slope lot, the project overcame significant design and construction
challenges to create a unique home elevated in the trees.
In response to both budget and zoning limitations, the house utilizes a compact 24’ x 30’ floor
plate to create 1644 SF of living space on three levels. The upper levels of the house consist of
a studio loft and an open plan living/kitchen/dining organized around a central skylight. The
spaces overlap in section around the central skylight to create a sequence of interconnected
spaces that are both open/closed to each other and to the park: living/dining look north into the
trees through a wall of windows; kitchen faces east and opens to a cantilevered deck; and the
mezzanine looks up to the tree tops and sky. The lower level contains all private and utility
spaces consisting of two small bedrooms, a bathroom and laundry room. The bedrooms are
small volumes with floor to ceiling glazing opening to the park. The lower level opens to a “play
pen” suspended above the steep slope lot and provides a sheltered place to play and relax in
the forest understory. This deck also gives access to a path running through the forest to the
owner’s P-Patch garden plot.

The building structure / mechanical systems employed or put in place green technologies to the greatest extent possible within budget limitations. The house used SIPS panels for the roof structure and high efficiency BIBs in all framed walls. Heat is provided by a hydronic radiator system with HRV ventilation. The operable skylight creates an effective stack effect for passive ventilation and cooling. Dual flush toilets, low flow fixtures, and Energy Star appliances are used throughout the home.

The building’s exterior both camouflages and accentuates the building within its surrounding. The steel structure of the carport, driveway and house will be painted orange while the building itself is clad in multi-colored asphalt roll roofing referencing the gray/green bark of the surrounding trees. The skylight gestures up from the building and is clad in galvanized metal. These materials were chosen for affordability / durability, their lack of finishing requirements and their material connection to treehouses and outbuildings, as well as their expressive potential to evoke tree bark.