Discover this Oregon House, Bend Hideaway

With Bend Hideaway, the architecture team had the mandate to create a home that would address its owners’ current needs – space for exercise and resting, as well as a number of guest rooms for the couple’s grown-up children when they visit – and future plans. The residence is located westward, towards a 650-acre nature preserve, which the owners would like to make the most of for hiking and skiing.

The architects explain: ‘The design of the home reacts sensitively to the site, both shielding occupants from neighbours to the north while opening westward into a 650-acre nature preserve, providing hiking and cross-country skiing access as well as uninterrupted forested views. The glassy bridge also provides protection from wind, nestling the lap pool into a protected courtyard while providing visual connection to the preserve. Sliding doors open to immerse occupants into the surrounding forest views, and an outdoor firepit and sitting area off the great room blend indoor and outdoor living.’

The owners are avid admirers of 20th-century design and formerly owned a Richard Neutra home in Portland. Their appreciation for modernism informed the house’s aesthetic and design decisions, leading to long linear forms, crisp surfaces and large openings.

The material palette, consisting of non-combustible panelling, concrete flooring, operable wood screens, black steel, warm wood and white plaster, paints a contemporary picture that gracefully juxtaposes the surrounding nature.

Inside, a low, rectangular volume contains the bedrooms, from the primary suite to three guest rooms and an office area. Off it, a glazed connection links up the private spaces to the living wing of the house, which is designed to open up to the forested landscape beyond (while cleverly avoiding a neighbouring home for privacy reasons). Next to this is the main entrance area and garage.

As for challenges? There are always some; the architects explain: ‘The desire for privacy from the north and optimal views to the west set the building on conflicting orientations, which also needed to be reconciled with the sloping site topography. These constraints led us to a widespread building with two distinct wings with unique orientations. The great room orients towards the views, and the bedroom wing elongates perpendicularly to shield against the neighbour with enough length to accommodate a full lap pool. The floor levels follow the natural downward slope of the site, creating taller rooms in the westernmost spaces – the great room and primary bedroom suite.

‘Additionally, both the clients, as well as our studio, had ambitious goals for a high-performance building with energy reduction in mind. This also dictated the orientation of the buildings and its glassy façades, keeping thermal comfort and performance in mind. Operable sliding screens offer adaptable solar shading, limiting summer heat gain while allowing passive solar access, daylight, and views during cooler months.’