Writer’s Retreat – Whidbey Island, WA

A new residence on Whidbey Island, flooded with light to promote relaxation and creativity for a writer and his family.

Restricted by a 14 foot height limit, the house was developed as four pavilions of living space focused on eastern views across a large meadow to Puget Sound and the Cascade Mountains. The pavilions are connected by a “ribbon of light,” forming a halo of sunlight that frames the major living spaces. One arrives by penetrating a dense grove of trees and a solid wall of house into a large open living space filled with ever-changing patterns of light throughout the day – a quiet contemplative place to encourage creative work.

The house was placed at the highest point of land to preserve the meadow and a central tree that the owners refer to as the “African tree.”