Sunset Homes: a unique home by architect A. O. Bumgardner

 


In many ways this house makes the most of natural light. Clerestories, window walls, and a lightwell bring daylight inside the house, and glass above the bedroom doors and over wardrobes admits light from interior spaces nearby.

The photographs show the detailing of the interior and how successfully the light does move about inside the house. 

An upper hall is the unifying central spine of the house. It uses space luxuriously, and is the means the architects used to pull daylight through the ends of the house. Of particular interest is the way light is pulled into the hall over a dressing room and wardrobe.

The lightwell  has a double function. It lets light filter down to the kitchen level and reveals the floor below.

The main outdoor living area is a deck that runs along the sunny south and west sides of the house. Unlike the solid upper hall railing, the railing around the deck is open. However, the spaces between the vertical supports are covered with an unclimbable wire mesh that doesn't afford a toehold for small children.

The house was set in a grove of madrona trees in such a way that only a few trees had to be removed. The trees screen the house from its neighbors and add leafy interest to the views through the high glass. The roof dips low toward the parking area at the front to make a covered loggia for stormy days, partly concealing an entry garden and giving it a greater element of surprise.





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source: Sunset Books - Sunset Homes 1967

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