Courtyard House

The vision is to create a unique, modern duplex near Downtown Bellevue, blending an international lifestyle with the essence of the Pacific Northwest. The design supports urban living with ample social spaces and neighborhood connectivity while maintaining privacy through smart space planning. To create unique architecture in the compact urban setting, we apply the concept of gentle subtraction and addition to transform the simple box massing, derived from the code and site scale, into functional spaces that shape the architectural form. Exterior spaces, such as terraces and balconies, are utilized as extensions of the living areas due to zoning code constraints on interior spaces. Garden-facing exterior areas are connected by exterior vertical circulation, while street-facing spaces feature large sliding screens to offer residents flexible privacy options.