SEA STACK
CLIENT
”Private”
LOCATION
”Oregon Coast”
PROGRAM
”1,934 SF Accessory Dwelling Unit”
Sea Stack represents a carefully crafted place for living inspired by its memorable natural setting. Carefully placed adjacent to the existing “Wave House”, Sea Stack is oriented to capture stunning views of the Oregon Coast and the nearby Proposal Rock.
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For over 25 years, a couple have been caretakers of a forested knoll on the Oregon Coast. A growing family prompted a need to explore ways to utilize more of the oversized property. The exploration included a desire to extend life outward—into landscape, memory, and family gathering—without altering the presence of the Wave House, completed on the site more than two decades earlier. Rather than building onto the existing structure, attention turned to an adjacent meadow, where the land opened gently toward the ocean and offered a quieter opportunity to build while preserving the knoll and its mature Sitka spruce.
Contrast became the guiding principle. Where the Wave House expresses movement and curvature shaped by time, the new structure responds with restraint and clarity. Dark, Shou Sugi Ban wood skin allows the building to recede into the trees, while its compact footprint and cantilevered form lift living spaces above the ground plane, protecting the site and creating sheltered outdoor space below. Together, the two buildings form a dialogue—distinct yet balanced—linked by a sequence of paths, stairs, and courtyards that transform everyday movement into a spatial experience.
Arrival unfolds gradually. A rerouted drive gives way to a courtyard framed by stone, sculpture, and planting. A wide bluestone stair and a horizontally branching cherry tree shape one edge, while a Lee Kelly steel sculpture anchors the other. Circulation continues upward through a series of layered thresholds, passing beneath trees and through portals before reaching elevated terraces and gathering spaces tucked beneath the canopy.
Inside, the atmosphere shifts. Light spruce surfaces wrap perimeter walls and ceilings, echoing the surrounding forest while softening light and sound. The thoughtfully detailed stair becomes a vertical moment of discovery, where daylight filters through open risers and tall windows frame the trunks and branches beyond. Movement upward is accompanied by changing views and light conditions rather than direct transitions.
At the living level, space compresses and then opens outward. A deep-set alcove frames the coastline and Proposal Rock as a singular, focused view—protected from wind and weather, yet fully connected to sky and sea. Material accents punctuate the interior: Heath tile surfaces reference headlands, tide pools, surf, and local holiday celebrations, grounding the experience in both natural and cultural context.
Life unfolds between exposure and refuge—between forest and horizon, memory and evolution. The project offers not a statement, but a setting: one shaped by sequence, restraint, and a quiet attentiveness to place.
Architect: CBTWO ArchitectsContractor: Cellar Ridge Construction
Landscape Architect: Ground Workshop
Structural Engineer: Vista Structural Engineering
Photography: Josh Partee
