Afloat on Seattle’s Portage Bay, this floating dwelling by Dyna Builders and Hoshide Wanzer Architects is rooted within the Costa Rican philosophy of pura vida, a way of life that embraces nature, simplicity, and ease. The problem was creating a house that feels open to its energetic waterfront setting whereas additionally offering quiet moments of privateness.
The venture started by changing a decades-old floating dwelling, which had sat on a log float courting again to the early twentieth century. As an alternative, the brand new construction rests on a sturdy concrete float constructed by Dyna, offering better stability and simpler entry to plumbing and electrical methods. The home itself is an easy rectangular quantity that maximizes house, with giant expanses of glass providing broad views of the canal, boats, and wildlife.
Layered components like blinds, shutters, and screens enable the householders to shift between openness and enclosure. The outsized sliding wooden display offers them management over mild, privateness, and transparency, enhancing the house’s adaptable character.
Inside, the fabric palette stays heat and constant. White oak flooring runs all through, whereas teak cabinetry and accents draw inspiration from the boating group.
The downstairs residing space sits immediately on the water’s edge, its glass partitions framing uninterrupted lake views. Right here, day by day life connects seamlessly to the surface world, making the lounge a pure gathering place.
This cabinetry in the lounge that traces the wall transitions to change into the kitchen cupboards, whereas the eating space sits seamlessly between the kitchen island and the deck.
Simply past the glass partitions, a deck extends residing to the water. This outside platform brings residents even nearer to the motion of the canal, blurring the road between in and out.
The lower-level library features as a versatile house. It may possibly stay open as an informal media room or be totally enclosed for a quieter, extra targeted dwelling workplace, persevering with the theme of adaptable residing.
Wooden stairs lead upward by way of the house, whereas skylights above fill the inside with pure mild and join the degrees with a way of openness.
Upstairs, the first suite gives extra enclosure and intimacy. A wooden headboard traces the wall and compliments the wooden particulars discovered on the decrease degree, whereas a window seat overlooks the inexperienced roof, giving the bed room a quiet view softened by planted greenery.
Constructed-in cabinetry that continues by way of to the toilet provides loads of storage, whereas a glass-enclosed bathe and self-importance full the toilet.
The second toilet options clear, trendy finishes with terrazzo flooring, tiled wall, and a floating self-importance. A slim mirror with vertical sconces enhances the sense of peak, whereas easy particulars preserve the house vivid, environment friendly, and practical.
Above all of it, the rooftop deck expands the residing house upward. Set again from the sting, it incorporates a sedum roof that softens the profile and aids in stormwater retention. Modular furnishings and a rolling fire enable the house to remodel for informal evenings or bigger gatherings.
This floating dwelling reveals how structure, panorama, and way of life can merge into one seamless expertise. Guided by the philosophy of pura vida, it achieves stability: open but non-public, environment friendly but inviting, and deeply linked to the water that carries it.
Images by Andrew Giammarco | Structure: Hoshide Wanzer Architects – Paul Wanzer, Jordan Lock| Contractor: Dyna Builders- Scott Smith, Challenge Supervisor | Inside Design / Styling: Hoshide Wanzer Architects – D’neka Patten | Structural Engineering: Voelker Engineering | Manufacturing Assistant: Michelle Anne Henley
