One of this season's backyard cottage projects, the treehouse's design is a response to the unique requirements of our client and his lot. The owner is a carpenter by trade who wants to build a new shop and living space above. When the project is complete he plans to rent out his existing residence and live in the new cottage. His prized possessions include two beautiful mature fir trees located in the middle of his lot. The design seeks to put the inhabitants at the level of and surrounded them by the largest branches. The orientation of the building will enable it to take advantage of passive heating and cooling strategies.
To protect the trees the footprint of the building is held back outside of the dripline while a covered work area will provide shelter for another prized possession a vintage pickup truck. The truck doesn't move often and a thick layer of bark mulch will be placed to protect the soil from compaction. The covered work area will be surrounded by a cedar rain screen which extends upwards to form the siding of the second level.
Carriage houses are a common use of backyard cottages. In Seattle garage space is included in the allowable 800 sq. ft. so accommodating two cars is often a challenge. This design maximizes the living area by creating moving one of the required parking spaces into the covered work area.
