North Bank Road | Pierre Maré Architects

9 North Bank Road is a family home near Mazama, set within the ancient conifer forests of the North Cascades mountain range of Washington State — a landscape of outstanding natural beauty, glacial valleys, pristine lakes and extreme year-round climatic conditions. The client's brief called for a comfortable contemporary home that could withstand the harshest of seasons while negotiating the density of the surrounding pine forest and blending smoothly with its surroundings.

The design draws from the vernacular of the region. A simple barn form caught our eye for its economy of expression and its proven ability to manage the local conditions — heavy winter snowfall, intense summer sun — and became the generative idea for the exterior. Pre-weathered cladding and a highly insulated wall construction ensure the building is as hardwearing as it is considered.

Screened porches are woven into the building volume, creating a carefully managed intermediate zone between interior life and the surrounding forest. Inside, a series of interlocking spaces draws light in from above the canopy, with a predominantly white interior finish amplifying that light. Selected areas of oak to walls and cabinetry introduce warmth, balanced by hardwearing basalt stone. The home sits slightly elevated from ground level, approached by landscaped earth ramps held in corten steel trays and seeded with native undergrowth species.

Photography: Michael Burns, Chris Vennum