Builder's Choice

The Pierre

San Juan Islands, Wash.

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Many projects involve demolition, but The Pierre was extreme. Dynamite, hydraulic chippers, cable saws, and chisels made space for the house to be embedded deep into rock.

The outcropping that the home nestles into still has a presence inside and out. Excavation remains were crushed and mixed into the concrete flooring. Rock extrudes into fireplace areas, serving as hearth ledges. The sink in the master bathroom and the powder room are both carved out of the massive stone ledge into which this house was built.

“The rock was definitely in charge,” says architect Tom Kundig, principal at Olson Kundig, who recalls that it split in unpredictable ways during excavation, calling for last-minute changes in the floor plan.

The client wanted a house that felt sheltered amongst the rocks, meadows, and trees of the weatherbeaten San Juan Islands. Yet the demo required wasn’t for the faint of heart. Are his clients gutsier than most? “Absolutely,” says Kundig. “I’m really lucky.”

Grand Award

Category Custom home, less than 3,500 square feet

Entrant/Architect/Interior designerOlson Kundig Architects, Seattle

BuilderSchuchart/Dow Construction, Seattle

Structural engineer MCE Structural Consultants, Missoula, Mont.

Civil engineerCoughlin Porter Lundeen, Seattle

Geotechnical engineerAssociated Earth Sciences, Kirkland, Wash.

Photographer Dwight Eschliman

About the Author

Amy Albert

Amy Albert is editor of Custom Home and a senior editor at Builder. She covers all aspects of design. Previously, she was kitchen design editor at Bon Appetit; before that, she was senior editor at Fine Cooking, where she shot, edited, and wrote stories on kitchen design. Amy studied art history with an emphasis on architecture and urban design at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Los Angeles. Write her at aalbert@hanleywood.com, follow her on Twitter @CustomHomeMag and @amyatbuilder, or join her on Custom Home's Facebook page. 

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