Inspired By Olmstead
   On the Boards
   Shoreline, Washington
   Nine Homes & Common Areas
   Avg.: 2,700 SF Living, 400 SF Garage

A Sustainable Development Takes Cues from Designs Shaped by Landscape
A family seeking to develop their property approached us with the aspiration to build single family homes not to the code maximum, but in complement to the character of the site. Parkview Northwest is informed by the tradition of great master planned communities by Frederick Law Olmstead and his disciples, letting topography and landscape direct the organic placement and design of residential architecture. A single family parcel of inordinate size in the Richmond Highlands neighborhood, the 2 acre site rolls from a flat area at the entrance to become a ridge working its way down and west into a forested ravine and private green belt. The concept for arranging the nine homes, one of which is a remodel of the owner's home, sought to integrate the site access with a drainage solution for its surface water impact: a curving drive ending in a roundabout surrounding a rain garden amenity feature. The homes, which are placed to share infiltration wells for drainage, are designed as variations on three prototypes, each conceived to adapt to grade, access, and solar orientation in distinct areas of the site. A walking path connects the central garden to the forest below, which will be held in common by the home owners.