News
Ross Chapin Architects honored by NW AIA!
Northwest Chapter, American Institute of Architects Awards
Ross Chapin Architects recently received TWO NW AIA awards for our Dungeness House. A Citation Award and the Glen Hunt Award which “recognizes seamless integration between Architecture and Landscape.” One juror commented that “the project shows strong sensitivity to the site demonstrated by the segregation of the program elements in relation to the site contours, outlooks and light, providing differing views from each element.” We took inspiration for the house from the local farm buildings and made a contemporary interpretation. The exterior palate in very limited to accentuate the play of building forms, the textures of the siding, and the contrast with the natural landscape. The interior space is Northwest contemporary with a tinge of Asian influence.
This Old House Magazine
"A Better Breed of Stock Plans"
The title of the article aptly describes our selection of plans. We were delighted that This Old House Magazine chose to feature our house, cottage, and bungalow plans in their October 2004 edition. “What distinguishes this new breed of plans is better architecture, greater historical authenticity, and an attention to detail more typical of custom homes.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Please visit our plans department to see the new plans that have recently been added. We are available to modify plans. Drop us a line at inquiry@rosschapin.com if you would like more information about this service.
Conover Commons in Redmond, Washington
Phase I is complete and residents have moved in!
Our latest courtyard cluster in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Redmond is complete and the residents are getting settled in. This joint-venture with the Cottage Company is turning heads across the country after being featured in the New York Times (08/26/04), MSNBC, and in the premier issue of Cottage Living magazine (a Time-Life publication). Conover Commons features twelve 2-bedroom, 2-bath cottages in the first phase and twelve 3-bedroom+ homes in the second phase. Each phase is oriented around a landscaped courtyard on a site next to a beautiful ravine filled with big-leaf maple and fir trees.
The Neighborhood of Umatilla Hill
Construction is well underway on this new two-and-a-half square-block Neighborhood of Umatilla Hill in Port Townsend, Washington. Developed and built by Kimball & Landis Construction, this project includes a 10-cottage courtyard cluster and 17 private lots for small and medium sized houses. There are no garage doors or driveways facing the street in this neighborhood; alleyways serve as access to garages, and the cottage cluster. We designed the site as a walkable neighborhood—with a network of sidewalks and paths weaving through the neighborhood and its surrounding community, and large porches facing the street.
Danielson Grove
The first eight houses are being framed up in Danielson Grove, our latest joint-venture with the Cottage Company. Located in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Kirkland, this pocket neighborhood will offer a mix of three-bedroom homes (1,500 sf), as well as a few smaller cottages (650-1,000 SF). Each home is on a private lot surrounding a garden courtyard. Completion on this 16-unit project is expected in mid-2005.
National Press Takes Notice of Our Work
Several publications have recently featured our work, including a story about Conover Commons in the New York Times (8/26/04), and an article about alcoves in the Inspired House magazine (12/03). Our residential work is featured in several recent Taunton Press publications, including The House You Build, The Distinctive Home, Patterns of Home, and Sarah Susanka’s Home By Design. Find out more about our published work under Press.
Residential Work in Construction
Several projects are currently under construction
Construction is about to begin on an historic interpretation of the oldest farmhouse on Fox Island in southern Puget Sound, Washington. Taking the same spot as the original house just a few feet from the water, the new home features gabled roofs, ornamental woodwork and a wrap-around porch.
And an island farmhouse is under construction on the side of Buck Mountain on Orcas Island, Washington. This house for a growing family and their visiting relatives and friends will feature a bright family commons-kitchen room, with a cozy sitting alcove, fireplace, kids cubby and walls of alternating bookshelves and windows. Kids and guests will have to fight over who gets to sleep in the bunkhouse.
The final phase of the house at Keystone Praire is underway. Several years ago we designed the first phase as a stand-alone retreat cottage for a not-yet-retired empty-nester couple. Now that they have moved into retirement, the cottage will become the master-bedroom wing for a full-time house. Situated near an historic fort, the house respects its neighbor and settles into the prairie.
We’re consulting with a brave couple who are building their family’s dream home on Whidbey Island, Washington. They moved their two young boys, two cats, a dog, and a hamster into the house just after it was roofed. We can only imagine their exhilaration and appreciation of the parts of a house most of us take for granted: Windows! Electricity! Running water! Insulation! Now that the drywall is complete and the kitchen cabinets are in, life is cushy. To come: flooring and trim.
Greenwood Avenue Cottages
Residents have settled into on our latest cottage neighborhood in the City of Shoreline, Washington, just north of Seattle. As an infill in an older suburb, it offers an alternative to the typical 4-lot subdivision of "garage houses". The project was selected by AIA Seattle in their program "Housing in the Northwest" to highlight best new work, and featured in the May 2002 issue of Planning the professional journal of the American Planning Association. It is also be featured in the January 2003 issue of Builder Magazine., and the January 2003 issue of Urban Land.See Greenwood Avenue Cottages.
Solving Sprawl
Our Third Street Cottages are featured as a "Model of Smart Growth" in the book Solving Sprawl, recently published by the National Resources Defense Council.
Chapin serves on a design jury
Rosswas a jury member for the 2003 AIA/Sunset Western Home Awards in Palo Alto, California.
More Paper!
The Teutsch Residence was featured in the New York Times article, "Starlight Above", Fireplace Below (6/13/03). We were also featured in a story on Alcoves in the new Inspired House magazine, published by Taunton Press. The presses have been running at Taunton with recent books featuring our work in: Patterns of Home, by Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein and Barbara, Garages / Reinventing the Place We Park, by Kira Obolenski, and Cabins / Inspiration for the Classic American Getaway, by Dale Mulfinger. • A feature entitled "Cottage Industry" by John Wolcott appeared in newspapers across the country in early January, 2002. It highlighted the recent work that we've been doing around cottage housing. • And the April, 2002 issue of Coastal Living features a story on the Third Street Cottages. • Sarah Susanka's book, Creating the Not-So-Big House, hit the New York Times best-seller list one month after publication and has created a movement across the country changing the way people think about their homes. Two full chapters are devoted to houses designed in this office: the Gable House and the Third Street Cottages. Sarah focuses on key design strategies to shape our homes around how we really live. The N-S-B web site www.notsobighouse.com offers a wealth of information related to the principles espoused by this office.
RCA wins a major award!
Our Backyard Neighborhood won an Honor Award in the 2001-02 AIA/Sunset Magazine Western Home Awards. We designed and built with the Cottage Company a cluster of houses and backyard cottages, woven together with a shared lane. Look for the feature in the October 2001 issue of Sunset magazine.
Salish Pond Cottages near Portland, Oregon
Residents have moved into the first phase of the Salish Pond Cottages near Gresham, Oregon. Developed by Michael McKeel on the site of an abandoned gravel pit, these cottages restore a devastated environment while creating a wonderful neighborhood by the shore.
The Third Street Cottages Draws National Acclaim
Our Third Street Cottages pocket neighborhood received the highest Honor Award in the 1999-2000 AIA/Sunset Magazine Western Home Awards. Developed by The Cottage Company, this cluster of eight cottages surrounding a common garden is an exciting alternative for one and two-person households. The TSC is a pioneering development that has inspired planners, architects and developers around the country to think differently about housing and neighborhoods.
Media interest in the TSC has been strong, with features in numerous magazines, newpapers and television (see Press). The Third Street Cottages is a major feature in the Annual Houses Issue of Fine Homebuilding magazine (Spring/Summer 2000) and has a page on their web site www.finehomebuilding.com.
"On the Boards"—a selection
The new Woodland Sanctuary for the Whidbey Institute has been dedicated . This building is tucked into a forest setting and will be a place for individual and small group meditation. It will use salvaged old-growth slabs, up to 7 feet in width, highlighted in a way that we hope will honor these world treasures. It is being constructed by long-time friend and master-craftsman, Kim Hoelting.
Funding is underway for another building on the Chinook Lands of the Whidbey Institute, the Iona House. This "Northwest" structure will provide overnight accommodations and seminar space for 30 guests attending retreats at the Institute.
These buildings join others on the 100-acre woodland campus, including Thomas Berry Hall and the renovation of the historic Farmhouse. The Whidbey Institute focuses on connections between "earth, spirit and the human future".
Visit Press for media coverage on our work