For their wooded and sloping lot in Vancouver, Washington, the owners wanted a house that would open out to the trees and the view southwest across the Columbia River. They wanted, at the same time, to shut themselves off from the street.

The architects designed and placed the house so that only four of the existing trees had to be removed. On the garden side they used a great deal of glass, and the living and sleeping areas of the house all look out on this side.

On the street side, a long brick wall runs across the width of the lot, opening only for the driveway. Light is brought in by a clerestory in the living room and by narrow, high windows in other parts of the house.

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source: Sunset Books - Sunset Homes 1968

 

The helicopter photograph of this house (shown above) readily explains the pavilion arrangement of its floor plan. Four separate buildings are linked by roofed-over, glass-enclosed galleries, or outdoor passageways. Each of these "living zones" has a separate function. The Discovery House was originally planned and sponsored by Sunset Magazine and the architect as an idea laboratory for people who are in the house-dreaming, house-planning, or house-shopping stage.

The house plan provides each family member with his own private domain, yet also supplies places for the family to be together. Parents have a sitting room retreat for themselves or for intimate entertaining, opening off their bedroom. Each child has a room of his own and they share a common recreation area.

One of the pavilions is for all the family. It has the entry, the living and dining areas, and the kitchen. Isolated in the service pavilion are such noisy activities as laundry, repair work, and shop or craft projects that are best kept away from other living areas.

The enclosed central court is the largest room of the house, with floor and walls, but open to the sky. The patio's walls are the solid redwood walls of the house.

Only the parents' pavilion has windows on the patio and these are curtained.

The striking aspect of the family pavilion is that it puts living, dining, kitchen, and entry into 676 square feet without seeming cramped. Within the main living area, an L-shaped partition creates two sides of the sitting area. An opposite L-shaped section of bare floor directs foot traffic around the seating arrangement and also sets off the dining area. The kitchen is open to the living area by means of a see-through, pass-through wall of shelves. When guests are being entertained, tall shutters can conceal the kitchen from view.

Of all the pavilions in this house, the master bedroom- sitting room has the most luxurious sense of space. It has a fireplace, terrace, and accordion, stow-away partition. The folding partition is nine feet high. Drawn part way, it screens off the bed from the sitting area without destroying the effect of the 24-foot room length and glass wall.

The arrangement of walls and openings in the children's pavilion helps to make the rooms seem much more spacious. Windows are only at one end, a door and closet at the other.

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source: Sunset Books - Sunset Homes 1968

 

THEIS HOUSE  is a provocative example of what can be done with the use of skylights. Glass walls open the house to the out-of-doors and the unusual skylight system opens the roof over every room. Architect: Jacob Robbins. 

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source: Sunset Books - Sunset Homes 1968

 THIS CABIN goes so far beyond merely carving shelter from the wilderness that it makes us wonder how it was created. It started when the owners camped on every part of their site, learning it first-hand, so they could save the best spot instead of building on top of it.

Then, the designers asked the owners what they wanted of California's High Sierra, and the answer was: simply to be in it. So every view which could be seen from the cabin was worked out in the planning.

The sun was treated as both friend and enemy. Morning eastern sun may come in through an open wall to warm the cabin and wake sleepers, but by noon it is kept in its place by the deck's deep overhang.

There was no strain to seek unusual materials which would be used for their sake alone.

The result is a cabin which fits the owners as well as it fits its site. The design was by Ruth Gerth and George Kosmak.

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source: Cabins and Vacation Homes, Sunset Books | 1960

 

Along this stretch of the Oregon coast south of Bandon, it may rain steadily for a week or so, and it may be overcast and foggy for even longer. But between these periods, the sudden appearance of blue skies, warm sunshine, and a gentle breeze can make it as delightful a place as you'd ever hope to find.

This vacation cabin, designed by Architect George Rockrise, is planned to make the most of the moody climate. When it's sunny there's a deck for lounging. It is only a few steps to Floras Lake, and a hundred yards across the sandspit to the surf. When it's cold, cloudy, or rainy, the activity moves inside. Much of the cabin's success is due to the generous open space for rainy-day recreation. The absence of partitions in the living-dining-kitchen area and in the dormitory keeps the cabin from seeming cramped. It also reduced the per-square-foot building cost.

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source: Cabins and Vacation Homes, Sunset Books | 1960

 

On Lake Chelan in eastern Washington, this summer cabin works so well that the owners and their two children want an all-year house just like it.

Here are some of the features of the plan, by Designer Joe B. Wood, which make waterfront living simple and easy:

A masonry core with two fireplaces, one opening into the living room and the other onto the terrace.

An extra entry through the bathroom so that sand-covered sun bathers can take a foot bath or shower before entering the rest of the cabin.

Good traffic planning-several entries, not just one.

Durable, rough materials which require little maintenance. Note, too, the snugness and the trim lines of a ship-from the flagpole in front to the sun deck over the car port.

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source: Cabins and Vacation Homes, Sunset Books | 1960