Cross-Laminated Timber Berm House in Washington's Methow Valley

The Berm House is a private residence that doubles as the common house and gathering space for a 19 house mixed-income community in Washington’s Methow Valley. The house is set into the landscape, with a panoramic view of the farmland down valley, but hidden from the road by a berm that ramps up onto and across the roof. 

The south-facing building orientation optimizes winter solar exposure coupled with large overhangs to protect from snowfall and the intense summer sun. The home is post and beam structure with a cross-laminated timber (CLT) roof prefabricated in northeastern Washington. The design incorporates Passive House principles including managing seasonal heat gain from solar exposure, advanced air sealing, and mechanical ventilation. Thermal bridges are minimized by wrapping the house in continuous external insulation, including structural EPS under the foundation, isolating the home from outdoor temperature swings. The earthen roof adds thermal mass, wildfire protection, and a promontory to take in the down valley vista.

The great room portion of the house was designed for friends and neighbors to gather, share meals, and be a social center for the community. Off the great room, a five-foot wide hall leads to three guest suites and the primary suite. The uncomplicated and efficient floor plan shows a clear division between the private and public spaces. The mechanical room, pantry, storage, guest bath, and laundry spaces are arranged along the berm side of the house’s section.

The material palette is predominately warm woods. The CLT ceiling and glulam posts and beams were manufactured nearby, and a coffee table and kitchen bar were crafted locally from a fir tree felled on the property. The exterior employs the Japanese shou sugi ban preservation technique. The boulders throughout the site and as part of the berm were pulled from the site and placed by the owner. 

Team
Owner: Lee Whittaker
Methow Housing Trust
Architect: CAST architecture
Contractor: Methow Valley Builders 
CLT: Vaagen Timbers
Concrete subcontractor: JR’s Five Star Concrete
Geotechnical Engineering: GeoEngineers

See more here.

A “People Place” by Design
The Mazama Public House was conceived with community in mind.

“The long communal tables were always indicative of the way we were thinking about the place. You come in and you’re part of the community. You share a table and suddenly you’re in conversation with a person you’ve never met before. It’s a fun opportunity.”
-- Stefan Hampden, CAST architecture

See the full article here on Issue.

This pub is the new gathering spot for the community of Mazama, at the north end of Washington’s Methow Valley.  The 1,868 square foot public house is designed to seat 56 and another 50 outside with built-in benches on the four-season covered patio. In warm weather, a garage door system opens for a seamless connection to the outdoor decks. The height of the shed roof and the expansive windows on two sides are sited to take advantage of natural light and views toward Goat Peak. The interior features wood beams punctuated by blackened steel and concrete floors. Custom tables and bar slabs were crafted from locally sourced Douglas-fir. Outside, blackened steel will accent the wood structure. The siding is a dark-stained, rough-sawn vertical channel shiplap.

Green design features the use of highly durable siding materials including a mix of locally harvested wood from the Methow Valley and Boise Cascade products. The generous overhangs were designed to protect the siding from wear and tear. Full LED lighting was installed.

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@mazamapub
Architect: CAST architecture
Owner: Grumpy Goats, LLC
Operator: Old Schoolhouse Brewery @oldschoolhousebrewery
Contractor: Bjornsen Construction, Tom Bjornsen                                    
Structural: Harriott Valentine Engineers @harriottvalentine
Lighting: LightWire @ltwire
Windows & doors: @sierrapacificwindows  

Edelweiss House in the Methow Valley

This home, on two acres, near Mazama in the Methow Valley, was sited to take maximum advantage of a south-facing orientation. Its horseshoe shape creates a courtyard between the wings of the home which is cooler in the summer and cozy with a fire pit in the winter. The home’s design highlights the indoor/outdoor relationship that characterizes Methow Valley life.

The twelve-foot-high bank of windows and NanaWall in the great room face southwest and provide transparency through the home, while framing valley and mountain views. The interior wood ceiling extends out through the overhang above the veranda, further drawing the eye out and bringing in the outdoors. The roof height was intentional, to protect from the summer heat, and allow winter sun in to warm up the space.

A centerline from the kitchen to the fireplace wall is a nod to formality. The chandelier anchors the space from either side patios and the kitchen/living room axis. The open kitchen, clad in local Douglas fir, was designed for those social interactions that happen best around food.

The primary bedroom wing includes one bedroom, bathroom, walk-in closet with laundry room and doggie bed, and connection to the outdoor dog run. Obscure glass and a built-in Douglas fir headboard create the shared wall with the bathroom, bringing in extra light to the spaces.

On the opposite side, the utility wing starts just off the kitchen with a pantry and food prep area. A multipurpose room includes space for a guest bedroom with Murphy bed and built-in cabinetry, an office, and a game area. The area can be separated by a pocketed curtain.

Photos: Andrew Giammarco

See Portrait Magazine’s feature on Edelweiss House here.

TEAM
Bjornsen Construction‎
Evans Concrete Construction
B&B Excavating
A & J Electric
NanaWall Systems
Harriott Valentine Engineers
Johnsen Steel Works
Sierra Pacific Windows

Modern, functional shou sugi ban clad tiny homes on wheels in the methow valley

Like some who found themselves in lockdown at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, this Seattle family of four realized if they were going to work and attend school online, they could do it from anywhere. Cue a temporary move to their summer place. A year into their stay, they decided they were putting down roots in the Methow Valley and decided to make the change permanent. Their out-of-the-box solution? The family spent the summer building a pair of tiny homes on trailers with the help of friends and local tradespeople.

CAST’s goal was simple: apply everything we’ve learned about efficient home planning to a design that would be buildable by non-professionals and legal to tow down the highway. This was a highly collaborative process as we sought a compromise between homeowner research into solutions pioneered by the DIY tiny-house community and our knowledge of modern construction best practices.

The result is a pair of elegant, flexible rooms-on-wheels clad in shou sugi ban charred-wood that are modern, warm, and ultra-functional.
Shou sugi ban is a Japanese preservation technique that burns wood to create a weather-proof finish. The charred outer of each tiny home is cypress harvested in Japan, milled, burned in a kiln, and sealed with oil. Over time, they will weather and gain a patina.

The simple pitched roof is matched by an outward tilting wall to create a playful form with extra headroom at one end for a sleeping loft (with a built-in desk below). The regular rhythm of high square windows makes the room feel much larger by illuminating the ceiling. At the entry side, floor-to-ceiling glass frames a wood stove, creating a cozy lounge space. Inside, a narrow service bar in the center will accommodate a small kitchen and a private compartment for a composting toilet.

Featured on Dwell+ ”A Family of Four Joins Hands to Build Two Tiny Homes in Washington”
More photos at: https://www.castarchitecture.com/mccarthyrekart-tiny-homes
Photos by: Benjamin Drummond Photography