The Pierre
Architect: Olson Kundig
Sub-Style: Contextual
Year Completed: 2010
Size: 2,500 sq ft
Location: San Juan Island, United States
Conceived as a retreat nestled into the rock, The Pierre (the French word for stone) celebrates the materiality of the site. From certain angles, the house—with its rough materials, encompassing stone, green roof, and surrounding foliage—almost disappears into nature.
Site Excavation
The owner’s affection for a stone outcropping on her property inspired the design of The Pierre and its integration within the rocky landscape. To set the house deep into the site, portions of the rock outcropping were excavated through machine work and handwork. Excavated rock was re‑used as crushed aggregate in the concrete flooring. Excavation marks were left exposed on all the stonework, a reminder of the building process. Beginning with the entry sequence, the rock extrudes into the space, contrasting with the luxurious textures of the furnishings. Interior and exterior fireplace hearths are likewise carved from existing stone; leveled on top, they are otherwise left raw. The primary bathroom’s sink is composed of water cascading through three polished pools in the existing stone.
-
Interior Design
The materiality of The Pierre—mild steel, smooth concrete, and drywall—creates a neutral backdrop for the interior furnishings and artwork and the exterior views to the bay and surrounding landscape. With deep connections to Pacific Northwest modernists including Jean Jongeward, the owner of this home sought to recreate touchstone moments from her life through art and interior design. With the exception of a separate guest suite, the house functions on one main level, with an open-plan kitchen, dining, and living space. A wood-clad storage box (made with siding reclaimed from a Lionel Pries–designed house) transitions from outside to inside. Its two large bookcases open to provide concealed access to laundry and kitchen storage. A large pivoting steel and glass door provides access to a terrace.
Contemporary works of art by Cameron Martin, Jesse Paul Miller, Andres Serrano, Franz West, and Claude Zervas are mounted inside and outside the house. Antique furniture and art objects are complemented by custom pieces. Olson Kundig designed the interiors, in collaboration with the client. Off the main space, a powder room is fully carved out of the rock. A skytube runs through to the top of the rock and is topped by glass. A mirror set within the tube serves as a focal point, reflecting natural light into the space and connecting to a forged bronze sink.
Craftsmanship
A bronze shield (c. 1970) forged by sculptor Paul Evans floats atop reclaimed siding from a nearby cabin designed by architect Lionel Pries. Together, they form a custom-assembled cabinet rich in texture and history. Set at a right angle to the main space, a primary suite features a custom-designed bed with a leather headboard and footboard set in the middle of floor-to ceiling bookshelves. Seattle craftsman Rob Folendorf copied photos of rock walls from an existing cabin on site to create custom handwoven wool tapestry for the dining chairs. The arms are wrapped in leather by Holly Hunt. The custom light fixtures are based on the designs of Irene McGowan, a Seattle artist and lighting designer best known for her work with noted Northwest architect Roland Terry.
“The Pierre is a modern house exploring traditional site and building strategies. In the spirit of using available on-site materials, we took a natural object from the site—the rock—and repurposed it in the building of this home. It’s both a quarry and a structure.”
Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA
Design Principal
Related Curated Collections: Relaxed Contemporary
Living Room
Dining Room
Bedroom
The Pierre
The copyright of photographs of inspiring places are held by the authors of the photographs or are within the public domain. By presenting these images, our intention is to showcase the extraordinary spaces that they capture, increase awareness of these homes, and encourage visitors to purchase tickets and visit them in-person. As is the case with the source of these images, they are offered free of charge and accessible to anyone who searches for the specific inspiring place. In order to streamline the virtual experience of these homes, we have not highlighted attribution. If you are the author of any photograph and would like specific attribution or us to create a link to the original photograph or your business or body of photographic work, please contact us at info@ourthings.io and we would be more than happy to accommodate your request. If you would not like your work to be featured, we would also be happy to remove the image. Images credits for this inspiring home include: N/A.
