When architects Jeff and Tracy Prose decided to leave the San Francisco area, there were several factors pointing them towards Portland. Tracy had grown up in Eugene and graduated from the University of Oregon Architecture program. Jeff's parents live in Olympia and has a brother who lives in Portland. Not insignificantly, Tracy had inherited a beach house on the Oregon coast which they wanted to be able to use more often. Most importantly, they decided that Portland was a match for how they wanted their careers to move forward.
Jeff, who graduated from the Kansas State architecture program, had been working as an architect for a design-build firm specializing in residential and small scale commercial projects. Tracy had been working in project administration for an architectural firm dealing mostly in schools and hospitals; she left that job and in the last year had been serving as project manager for a residential construction company. Both were ready for a change. Both wanted to work on projects more in tune with their own values and more in keeping with their own tastes. These tended towards contemporary and modern with a heavy emphasis on design and executed with sustainable practices. They decided that the best way to achieve what they wanted was to adopt a business model where they were their own client.
They put their plan into motion by selling their house in Marin County and re-investing in the Portland area. They identified and purchased two parcels. One located in close in southeast just off of Hawthorn and another in the south Burlingame area off of Terwiliger. The two properties had existing houses in marginal or worse condition. Both were also zoned to allow an increase in density.
The plan was to develop the Burlingame property first with two houses. One they would keep for themselves , the other they would sell. The house in southeast would serve as temporary living quarters while they completed the first project. They patched and cleaned up the house off of Hawthorn making it into a situation they could live with for a year while they built the project on the other parcel. Their temporary living conditions served as a constant inspiration driving the other project forward.
Establishing themselves in Portland as the Building Arts Workshop LLC, they moved forward with remarkable efficiency. They filed for design review and approval in July of 2007 and received permits in March,2007. Jeff served as the general contractor and spent full time building and managing the project. They accepted an offer on the house that was built for sale in February and closed on it April. They moved into their house in May.
The Terwilliger project involved a corner parcel with an existing house. The neighborhood is close to Lewis and Clark college and the house had been abused and neglected for years during its' use as a rental to students. Its' demolition seemed an act of mercy. The lot drove the design. Zoning code allowed for two houses if built as town houses with a common wall and one entrance facing 7th street and the other facing Orchid.
The townhouse approach allowed them to create two homes that live like detached dwellings, but sharing a common courtyard/garden with two distinct and separate outdoor living areas. Being attached at the garages and on a sloping site, each home maintains views out the generous windows and maintains privacy due to the planted common garden and grade change. A two story volume in the center of each home, occupied by a hand-built stair of vertical grain douglas fir, takes advantage of the mutli-story glazing and skylights to take in the landscape and sky. Designed specifically for the site, these homes blend well into the eclectic mix of styles and massing of the neighborhood.
The final result is an eye catching piece of residential architecture that continues to inspire those passing to slow down for a closer look. Each house is roughly 2000 square feet with three bedrooms and two and a half baths. Both have a large double garage and good sized back yard with terrace.
Both are exemplarly demonstrations of sustainable practices. "The architecture is what we love and it is design that drives the project." Comments Jeff. "That being said, the architecture has to address
sustainablility issues and be part of the solution. For us, there really is no other way to build."
Both homes are LEED for Homes certified and are pending Gold rating. Features include:
- spa-like master bathroom with bamboo finishes
- douglas fir kitchen cabinets and stairway
- 10 foot first floor ceilings
- radiant heated concrete and hardwood floors
- solar hot water
- rain water harvesting
- heat recovery ventilator and operable skylights
- high efficiency insulation
- durable and low maintenance exteriors with rain screen systems
- locally sourced and reclaimed materials
