A House Carved Into a Hillside | Concrete, Timber & Light
Nestled into a steep hillside overlooking Lake Washington, this extraordinary residence on Mercer Island transforms one of architecture's greatest challenges into its defining strength.
Designed by Hutchison & Maul Architecture, the house occupies a narrow 50-foot-wide site marked by landslide history, strict zoning constraints, and neighboring homes located just feet away. Rather than fighting these limitations, the architects embraced them, creating a remarkable sequence of spaces that blur the boundaries between landscape, architecture, and movement.
In this film, we embark on a cinematic journey through the project, exploring how light, topography, materiality, and circulation shape every moment of the experience. More than a house tour, this is an exploration of architecture as a carefully choreographed path.
Visitors descend through a series of terraces, bridges, courtyards, water features, and cascading levels before arriving at a front door located at the very center of the home. Along the way, the architecture gradually reveals itself, transforming arrival into an immersive spatial experience.
Carved directly into the hillside, outdoor rooms and private courtyards bring natural light deep into the residence, illuminating spaces that sit partially below grade. Floating above a robust concrete base, a dark timber volume contains the private quarters, while a transparent glass pavilion positioned between the two frames expansive views toward Lake Washington and the surrounding landscape.
The project is defined by a restrained yet powerful material palette: cast-in-place concrete retaining walls anchor the home to the site; dark-stained timber volumes appear to hover above the terrain; expansive glazing dissolves the boundary between interior and exterior; and warm white maple and oak surfaces bring light and softness into the living spaces.
Throughout the film, we explore the architectural strategies that allowed the residence to maximize daylight, preserve privacy, navigate an extremely complex site, and create a continuous dialogue between built form and nature.
What emerges is a house that is not experienced all at once, but discovered gradually—a sequence of spaces, framed views, shifting light conditions, and carefully orchestrated moments that reveal the architecture step by step.
A cinematic exploration of concrete, timber, glass, landscape, and light—where the journey through the house becomes the architecture itself.
Project: Courtyard House on a Steep Site
Architecture: Hutchison & Maul Architecture
Location: Mercer Island, Washington, USA
Principal-in-Charge: Robert Hutchison
Project Team: Tom Maul, Joyce Puri
Landscape Architecture: Bruce Hinckley / Alchemie
Completed: 2007
Film by: Juan Benavides
Film Curatorship by: Architecture Hunter