January 2010

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Phinney Ridge Home Fair this weekend

January 29, 2010 in Events by Matt Hutchins | No comments

We’re looking forward the annual Phinney Ridge Home Fair this Sunday, the 31st, from 10 am to 4 pm.  Usually we have a table there, but we jumped on it a little too late.

I’ll still be there.  In fact, I’ll be giving a little talk on How to Work with an Architect to help people looking to build understand the role of the architect, and the design process.  I’ll talk about how to select an architect, how much it will cost, and go in deep about what to expect every step of the way.

If I’m lucky there’ll even be time for some questions!

Starts at 1:50 and runs to 2:30. I’m going to hang out afterwards as long as there are curious minds with questions.

In case you can’t make it, I’ll post the handout that goes through the process afterwords.

BACKYARD COTTAGES PROFILED ON THE SEATTLE CHANNEL

January 29, 2010 in Architecture, Backyard Cottages, Events, Seattle Land Use Code by Tim Hammer | No comments

The Seattle channel recently interviewed myself and CAST clients Kate Lichtanstein and Ric Cochrane regarding the backyard cottage we are currently working on together. They included our project in a broader story that profiles an owner of a recently completed backyard cottage and gives a basic outline of the new Seattle backyard cottage ordinance.


Seattle Channel Video can be played in Flash Player 9 and up

Additions that don’t Divide

January 29, 2010 in Architecture, CAST Projects, Sustainability by Forrest_Murphy | No comments

aerial view

aerial view

Here’s another new project in the office, an addition to a residence on Capital Hill. The existing house is a tiny 750 sq. ft. bungalow on one of Seattle’s steepest streets. The owners found the compact plan a perfect fit when they first moved in, but two kids later, they desperately need more room. They are drawn of the core values of modern architecture – emphasis on natural light, spaces that flow together, honest and straightforward materials – and want a house that expresses that. They are comfortable making a pretty bold statement, but they also want the addition to feel comfortable in the existing fabric of the neighborhood. They are interested in sustainability that is designed in from the ground up, which led to the early decision to preserve the existing structure instead of starting from scratch on the site.

How to add onto an existing building that has a well-defined or historical style is a perennial architectural puzzle (and hip roofs are especially difficult to achieve seamless integration). In this case, we approached it by creating a clear contrast between the new and the old through form, material and color. But it’s not enough to just plunk a contemporary form next to an old house and expect a real conversation to take place. In this addition, the new and old talk to each other both in how the volumes intersect and in how the two differing styles overlap.

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New house in Sand Point

January 27, 2010 in Architecture, CAST Projects by Matt Hutchins | No comments

In the fall, we started the design for a new house in Sand Point.  Although the project stalled here in schematic design, we were very excited about the work, and hopefully it will come back in some form (we recycle!).  Here are the three schematic designs we presented:

Scheme 1:  PLUS

The clients wanted to have a ‘permeable’ house with soft transitions that welcomed neighbors but kept private space private.  The design delineated the corner site into 4 quadrants with varying degrees of privacy.  A manicured garden graces the stepped path from the very public corner, while the upper drive on the southwest provides the day to day family entrance (at grade for the client’s aging parents.  One the northeast, a wide terrace off the living spaces provides a great entertaining space that opens to the more quiet neighborhood edge.  The two volumes of the plus create a very private backyard on the southeast.

The house has a very clean organization–living spaces are lined up in the lower volume, each with access to the eastern terrace/backyard, with the bedrooms stretched across the second story volume.  The second story volume bridges over the first story, bookended with a mudroom and a semi-detached mother-in-law, creating two apertures–one for the entry, the second for an covered outdoor living room.  At the intersection of the two volumes we have an atrium with a sculptural stair.

PLUS-aerial view

PLUS-aerial view

PLUS-street view

PLUS-street view

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The Sunset Substation: a new pocket park for Seattle

January 21, 2010 in Architecture, CAST Projects, Events, Sustainability by Matt Hutchins | No comments

We are very excited to begin a new project for the Sunset Hill neighborhood to transform an abandoned City Light substation parcel into a pocket park.  Based on the input from the community thus far, the program is very intriguing:  a community space with an artist-in-residence caretaker, powered by a serious photovoltaic array.

There may be more or different elements as the project evolves in the community design process, and as we navigate through various City agencies and funding sources, but fundamentally this has all the values we expound as a firm:  sustainable building, energized public space, housing options/density, and  an interactive process that invests people in the civic life of their neighborhood.

In 2008, I designed a structure with a similar program for a Dwell Magazine conceptual competition:

Crissy Field House

Crissy Field House

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SEATTLE BACKYARD COTTAGE QUICK START GUIDE

January 20, 2010 in Backyard Cottage Quick Start Guide, Backyard Cottages, Seattle Land Use Code by Tim Hammer | 1 comment

Are you considering building a backyard cottage?

We’ve put together a Seattle Backyard Cottage Quick Start Guide* to help homeowners better understand Seattle’s citywide backyard cottage ordinance and the opportunities available to them.

The first step is to figure out whether or not your lot is large enough to qualify for a backyard cottage. The chart below outlines the minimum requirements for lot area and dimensions.
lot_dimensions

BASIC SITE REQUIREMENTS:
Minimum Lot Size 4000 sq.ft.
Minimum Lot Width 25 feet
Minimum Lot Depth 70 feet

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The next step is to figure out what portion of your lot is buildable under the backyard cottage ordinance. Setbacks, yard requirements and maximum lot coverage all factor into whether or not a cottage is feasible.
BUILDABLE-AREA

SETBACKS AND YARDS:
Setback from lot lines 5′ unless adjacent to an alley in which case the setback is 0
Setback from other structures 5′
Maximum Lot Coverage

SMC 23.44.010

 Lots less than 5,000 sq. ft. – 1,000 sq. ft. + 15% of lot area
Lots 5,000 sq. ft. or more - 35% of lot area
Maximum Rear Yard Coverage 40% of the area required for the rear yard.
Maximum Front Yard Coverage Cottages not allowed in front yard.
Off Street Parking
SMC 23.44.016		 One space per dwelling unit required – some exceptions apply.
Entry Location May not be located on the side facing the nearest lot line unless that lot line abuts an alley or other public right of way.

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Once you’ve verified that your lot can accommodate a backyard cottage the next step is to take a look at the the floor area and height restrictions in order to determine if you can meet your objectives within those boundaries.
GROSS-FLOOR-AREA-3

FLOOR AREA:
Gross Floor Area
SMC 23.86.007		 800′ square feet max.

Gross Sq. Ft. is measured from interior finished surface to interior finished surface. If you are planning a two story structure the floor area of each story counts toward the total.

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There are three factors that set the height limit for your cottage, the width of your lot, the type of roof you choose and the height of your home.

MAX-HEIGHT-EXISTINGdadu-height-limit-SMALL

HEIGHT LIMITS:
Lot width
< 30′ 30′-35′ 36′-40′ 41′-50′ 50′ <
Max base height 12′ 14′ 15′ 16 16
Max height with pitched roof 15′ 21′ 22′ 22′ 23′
Max height with shed or butterfly 15′ 18′ 19′ 20′ 20′
Max height above peak of existing home 15′ 15′ 15′ 15′ 15′

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REFERENCES
CAST Architecture tim@CASTarchitecture.com

Feel free to email me with any questions you may have regarding Seattle’s Citywide backyard cottage ordinance
Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) Seattle Backyard Cottage Ordinance

This is the definitive legal document covering Seattle Backyard Cottages.
DPD’s Land Use Q&A Service

Any ambiguities or clarifications unanswered by the ordinance document (above) can be addressed through the DPD’s Land Use Q&A Service
DPD CAM 116B – Establishing a Backyard Cottage

The DPD’s client assistance memo (CAM) outlining the citywide backyard cottage ordinance. CAMs are guides intended to help people navigate the building permit processes in the city of Seattle.
A Guide to Building a Backyard Cottage in Southeast Seattle

This is an out of date but very useful guide put together by the DPD for Backyard Cottages in Southeast Seattle. The ordinance the guide was written for has changed (proceed with caution) but the value of the guide is still intact. It covers many of the issues you are likely to encounter and does a good job of mapping out design considerations you should be aware of.
*This guide is intended as an overview of the backyard cottage ordinance and does not include detailed conditions and restrictions that may affect individual properties. As such, it should only be used as a basic starting point for planning. If you would like to move forward with the design and permitting of a backyard cottage for your home we recommend careful scrutiny of the entire ordinance and the assistance of an architect or design professional.spacerDownload guide as a printable pdf Download guide as a printable pdf
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Demographics of a Seattle Backyard Cottage

January 15, 2010 in Backyard Cottages, Seattle Land Use Code by Tim Hammer | No comments

demographicsWe’ve seen an unexpected level of interest in backyard cottages in the 2 months since the new ordinance has been in effect. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the projects is the diversity of needs for each one…

We have a young couple with a small house on a large lot that would like an outbuilding with a workshop and guestroom. We have a couple planning to build and occupy a cottage in their backyard in order to open up their home for their children and grandchildren to live in. We have a third couple who have separated but are committed to raising their children together. They currently live in the same house and believe that adding a backyard cottage to the property will maintain the proximity they need to raise their children together while providing them the space they need as individuals.

In a bit of a surprise, we have yet to see anyone looking to build a cottage for the sole purpose of rental income. Although one of the guys here at the office has been running the numbers and is strongly considering building a cottage for rent in his backyard.

BLOGGING A SEATTLE BACKYARD COTTAGE – SCHEMATIC DESIGN
a CAST architecture case study project

January 15, 2010 in Architecture, Backyard Cottages, CAST Projects, Seattle Land Use Code by Tim Hammer | No comments

intro-image

We’ve completed the first round of design on our CAST architecture case study backyard cottage.

Kate and Ric’s cottage is intended to serve as an art studio, workshop and guest house. It is also designed so that it may function as a rental home if needed. Our initial round of planning looked at how the spaces might work as a rental thinking that those functional requirements would be more restrictive than the requirements for an art studio and workshop.

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