The smallest sites often pose the most precise questions. On a narrow urban backyard in Seattle, the challenge was simple: how to accommodate a complete outdoor life with a barbecue kitchen, hot tub, bar, dining area, changing room, reading nook, and gates without consuming the very space meant to be enjoyed.
The answer begins with a calculation. The allowable building footprint at the rear of the site was measured precisely, then lifted from the ground and compressed into a single vertical plane of cedar. Everything the clients asked for lives within this wall. Through a carefully choreographed sequence of hinges, pivots, and concealed elements, informed by seasonal sun studies, each component finds its place within the composition. The wall breathes, opens, and reconfigures itself throughout the day and for different occasions. But the project's deeper ambition was never the programme. It was the experience. Architecture at its most powerful does not simply provide beautiful objects. It creates the conditions for meaningful moments, sharpening our awareness of place and of the people with whom we share it.
This wall does exactly that. It transforms a backyard into an event.
Vertical Patio
All the program - one wallType : Residential, Renovation/Extension, International
Surface : ~100 m²
Year : 2006
Location : Washington, USA
Project Team: Peter Jahnke, Eric Meglasson
Surface : ~100 m²
Year : 2006
Location : Washington, USA
Project Team: Peter Jahnke, Eric Meglasson
The calculation
The allowable building footprint at the rear of the site is translated with precision into a single vertical plane. Nothing is wasted. Nothing is omitted. The wall contains the entire outdoor programme without surrendering a single square metre of terrace to built form.
Hinges and pivots
Each element, from the barbecue and bar to the hot tub enclosure, bench, and gate, is housed within the wall and activated through movement. The occupant opens, unfolds, and reveals. Every gesture transforms the space.
Seasonal sun studies determined the precise location of each component within the composition, allowing light itself to become part of the choreography.
A framework for circumstance
The most powerful spaces are those that make their occupants aware of where they are and of the people with whom they share the moment. From the warm glow of cedar illuminated from below at dusk to the steam rising from the hot tub beneath the open sky, this wall orchestrates an atmosphere.
Modest in scale, generous in experience.