- Area:
3715 sq. ft -
Manufacturer: Gaggenau, Louis Poulsen, Lutron, Allwood, Ann Sacks, BM, BUILD, Benjamin Moore, Large branch wood processing, Bosch, Brendan Ravenhill, a piece of cake, DWR, Emtek, Eric Pfeiffer, Graff, Intrepid marble and granite, Jonah's study, Kohler, Kolbe+7-7
Text description of the architects. This mid-century modern home was originally designed by noted Pacific Northwest architect Saul Zaik and remodeled for a young, minimalist family.
WEBSITE
The Mori House sits on a gently sloping, wooded lot on a quiet street in west Portland, Oregon. It features a detached garage/studio structure and raised decks for access and connection to a detached tea house pavilion.
PROGRAM
Saul Zaik originally designed the house for his friend and neighbor, interior designer Howard Hermanson. The new owners, a young couple with design ambitions and knowledge of Saul Zaik, are drawn to an “East meets PNW” modernist minimalism with clean lines, clear orientations and natural materials. The project's design goals were to maximize natural light and forest and sky views, reconfigure the existing vertical spiral staircase, create clear separation to private program areas, and increase the usability of outdoor decks.
The resulting program includes the living/dining room/kitchen and master suite on the main level, as well as three flexible bedrooms, a bathroom, rec room, wine cellar and laundry room on the lower exit level.
DESIGN
On the ground floor, the entrance remains, but the experience changes dramatically. By removing an existing attic and spiral staircase, the design reveals a soaring nail-laminated wood roof that extends to a central skylight. This skylight floods the newly designed rooms with forest-filtered light, thus illustrating the structural and spatial arrangement. Key features include a new serpentine staircase on the southwest side of the home, a master suite that runs northeast to northwest on the north side of the home, and open living, dining and kitchen areas that run southeast to southwest on the south side of the home A house. In place of the spiral staircase is an entry closet and a powder room, which provide light through the skylight above.
The kitchen features a horizontal window above the cooktop and overlooks ripe rhododendrons. It opens to a dining nook with a custom fir bench in front of floor-to-ceiling glass. A new glass door and picture window above the sink provide direct access to the existing terrace and tea house pavilion. In the living room, a relocated fireplace turns the main seating to the south, offering views of the forest and, on a clear day, Mount Saint Helens. The former fireplace area now houses a built-in bar and a technology cabinet.
The master suite is separated by the central space under the skylight and features fir louvers over the door to allow light into the hallway and bathroom. This suite transforms an existing bedroom and bathroom into a spacious master bathroom with an adjacent walk-in closet. The master bathroom features a Japanese soaking tub, meticulously detailed vanity, custom medicine cabinets with integrated LED lighting, and skylight windows that provide light through the skylight.
A covering of wooden slate panels defines the new spiral staircase and creates a stair volume that offers light filtered through the large skylight. All rooms on the upper floor have some connection to the skylight, both visually and for access to light. The stairs lead down to a lounge with floor-to-ceiling glazing and a view of the forest. The lower level includes three private, flexible spaces suitable for bedrooms, home offices or workout rooms, as well as a new bathroom and an under-stairs wine cellar.
