Portland, Oregon, USA
Using dark steel, concrete, and glass, Daniel Kaven and his design team at William/Kaven Architecture have designed and developed a contemporary residence on a wooded, steeply sloped site within Forest Park, one of the largest forested urban reserves in the United States.
Named Royal II, the project has been awarded a 2023 Future House Award by Global Design News and The Chicago Athenaeum Museum for Architecture and Design.
The studio, along with associated partners, owns nine residentially zoned parcels of land overlooking a portion of the 5,000-acre woodland sitting west of downtown Portland, which boasts a rich system of hiking trails and creeks.
Through siting and material selection, the design team sought to sustain an experience of seclusion and privacy while still providing easy access to the amenities of the city.
Located within minutes of downtown and less than 500 feet from the renowned Wildwood Trail, Royal II accomplishes both.
The ongoing aesthetic vision for the development is to create a collection of homes unified in materiality and design ethos, but distinct in floor plans and overall execution. The homes are meant to read as iterations on a theme, connected by a unifying thread.
Upon approach, Royal II presents a modest profile, featuring muted colors and a simple material palette.
The entrance level conceals the bulk of the house, which steps down the slope in terraced levels.
The cantilevered main living areas and the sloped site reduce the home’s footprint, minimizing disturbances to the ecosystem on the ground.
Royal II was designed to make the most of a spectacular landscape without unduly compromising neither the architecture or the environment.
At every turn, the design team sought to prioritize the existing beauty of the site.
Expansive glazing fully exposes the rooms to their environs.
Extensive daylighting studies and skylights allow morning rays into all bedrooms, which are carefully oriented to the east.
Throughout the day, the kitchen and living areas are flooded with southern light, while the deciduous canopy tempers the hot summer sun.
Serving as both architect and developer allowed the studio to push the limits of design and limits creative compromises.
As an ongoing project, the development is meant to grow organically, resulting in a unified design that evolves.
Project: Royal II
Architects: William / Kaven Architecture
Lead Architects: Daniel Kaven
Design Team: Daniel Kaven, Trevor William Lewis, Mike Perso, Joel Dickson, and Natalie Garyet
Contractor: Metcalf Design & Construction, Portland, OR
Client: WKL LLC
Photographer: Jeremy Bittermann / JBSA
