OREGON COAST HOUSE

This house overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach, Oregon, is designed with the landscape and protection from 100-mile-per-hour winds uppermost in mind. Obie Bowman organized the house so that the occupants can enjoy generous and varied views—of the ocean, of the mammoth rocks known as sea stacks that jut from the water, and of the green, often foggy coastline. The walls facing the ocean are largely transparent. But rather than being composed of sheets of glass as large as possible—the stance that modernists have often taken—most of the glazing is divided into segments that are four feet wide at most and in some instances only a couple of feet high. The pervasive grid of wood imposes structure on the views, encouraging the eye to focus on particular parts of the scene. One window—or set of windows—frames a slice of land, another a view of sky, still another a mix of sea and sky. Besides isolating the different views, the wooden grid, with its natural tones, makes the interior feel warmer and more sheltering.

Massive log buttresses give the impression of holding the house in place, adding a dramatic sense of structural tension that makes the home feel as strong and rugged as the terrain it commands. Visually, the timbers step the house down into the landscape, grounding it. The interior contains a mix of large open spaces and intimate spots, such as a built-in window seat, where a person can nestle in and feel secure, right next to the big view.