Contemporary House Plan 3

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

Contemporary House 3 is a 25'x105' "Linear Home". It is a 2900 sf plan with a master suite, second bedroom suite, and a third floor get away that can be a study or a third bedroom. The linear plan layout results in a long facade toward the street that creates the image of a substantially larger home. On the inside the linear open plan reinforces the perception of a large home despite it's modest square footage. The first level is laid out for entertaining with a large central entry hall for greeting guests who can then easily circulate to the living room or large kitchen dining area. A covered verandah off the living room expands the entertaining area as an outdoor room complete with fireplace. The visual connection of the in line spaces encourages circulation between gathering and sitting areas. The large kitchen area can accommodate a table for 10 to 14 or can be arranged with four smaller independent tables seating four each.

A covered carport provides direct protected access into the house for rainy days and can be used as a carport. The garage can be made into a home office or shop if not needed for car storage. The master suite has a walk in closet that connects directly to a large laundry room that can also be used for messy projects you wouldn't want to do in the kitchen.

Contemporary House Plan 3 Interiors

On the first level one can visually see from one end of the house to the other, a distance of 53', making the home feel much larger than it is. Running the stairs in a linear pattern along the street elevation provides not only privacy, but also means that interior stairs are not blocking the visual connection between spaces and that the floor area can be fully utilized.

Oregon Coast House 2

All Plans Copyrighted MCMarchitects 2010, All Rights Reserved

This beachfront residence, located just beyond the foredune, was designed as a primary residence as a family four. The original house, out of which this new residence was created, was a one story, flat roofed vacation house constructed in the early 1960's. In remaking the house the intent was twofold. First, to expand the small residence to meet the needs of an active family. Second, the owner's wished to create a house that reflected the northwest style of architecture with a strong nod to the wife's Scandinavian roots.

The linear plan of the existing house, coupled with zoning restrictions and view opportunities led to a linear, two story solution. The details, shingled exterior and traditional windows recall the great houses of Martha's Vineyard while the scale and massing contribute to a casual elegance. On the entry side a broad porch greets visitors and established the homes pedigree. One enters directly into the Dining Room and the view to the ocean beyond. A pair of fireplaces separate the Dining and Living Rooms and also separate the service wing from the bedroom wings of the ground floor. On the upper level a separate bedroom suite, a gracious Master Suite and a Playroom complete the composition. The Playroom opens onto a rooftop deck that is expressed as a traditional Widow's Walk on the exterior. Throughout the interior natural blond woods, off white paint and simple detailing contribute to the desired Scandinavian feeling and the overall impression of a space that is both traditional and modern at the same time.

Minimum House Plan

In 1947 Life Magazine published three modern house plans, one was called the Minimum House and was designed by Oregon architect Pietro Belluschi. It was a 25' square house that could be built for $7,000 and later expanded for a growing family. This plan was probably intended for soldiers returning from WWII and ready to start families. The children of those families (known as Baby Boomers) are starting to enter retirement. Our Minimum House Plan is inspired by the original but updated for Baby Boomers who want a small house for cost reasons, because they don't need a large home any more, for a second home or retreat, or because they want to live more sustainably with more efficient use of resources and less maintenance.

Our Minimum House is a 25' by 35' (850 sf plus storage) open plan with a large covered terrace. The Life Magazine article said "the minimum house provides a maximum of pleasant living", which is what we tried to achieve with this updated plan. The space is open and flows around the house. The space is very comfortable with high ceilings and wrap around windows. It will be well suited for entertaining. Some spaces have multiple uses; such as the entry, which in most small homes tends to be tight and cramped or enter directly into the living room, in this plan the space also has a built in desk for home office or desktop computer along with a wall of storage closets. The bathroom is compartmentalized so that guests can use it as a powder room without going through the sleeping area. Two vanity areas allow separate sinks for couples and one has a 6' long counter top for folding laundry or packing your suitcase. There is a large walk-in closet and storage room added to the carport is available to store stuff. So while small in square footage it has plenty of living space and storage for a single person or a couple.

In 1951 Pietro Belluschi designed the Griffith house that was a small home similar to Life's Minimum home. This house survived until a few years ago and has been dismantled and will be reconstructed as the Belluschi Pavilion on the campus of Marylhurst University in Lake Oswego Oregon. You can find information on the Griffith House as well as reprints of the Life Magazine articles here.

Another Minimum House Plan can be seen here.

Jumby Bay Pool Design

Photos by Dominic Noon
Pool Constructed by Caribbean Water Treatment, Antigua

The design of the new Jumby Bay used softly shaped curves for courtyard walls and terrace edges to create a relaxed environment that sits comfortably in the landscape. The design for the new pool located on the point overlooking Pond Bay continues this concept. This infinity edge pool provides a foreground that blurs the edge between sea and sand and extends the water up close to the buildings for guests that want to remain in shade or are not able to traverse the sandy beach.

Marysville School Park Update

We have some new pictures by Josh Partee of the Marysville School Playground. These pictures focus on a key design element of the grass mounds. Inspired by some of Maya Lin's work, they have proved to be a popular play area that was modest in cost. It is interesting to watch kids use these grass hills, they seem driven to run up, run down, run around and run through them. They also devise games - usually centered around possession of one hill or another. The hills also create small amphitheaters for more structured activities and are used as seating areas to hang out while overlooking other parts of the park.

The school district does not have the budget to maintain a manicured park so the intent is that the hills will eventually have a more rustic landscape character and not require frequent mowing to be functional. Elsewhere in the Park some of the play walls have been tagged, despite our attempt to use contrasting painted strips to make them less attractive to taggers. Unfortunately the school remains closed because of the fire, however, the community makes good use of the Park.