Located in Seattle, Washington, Leschi Inventors House by Olson Kundig is an inventors dream house with room for the owner to live and experiment. Following a brief that asked for a representation of the client’s characteristics, the architect has focused on supplying a home that allows the owner to create, workshop and experiment on different levels. Additionally, the architect responds to the home’s location, climate and consistent rain by employing materials that become one with the land as well as work with the wet weather Seattle is known for.

At the start of the inventor's dream house tour, a big yellow front door has been created to greet visitors. Specifically chosen to be the exact same colour as Caterpillar’s heavy machinery, the door opens to reveal the unique interior of steel and concrete. On the front door, the owner’s experimental characteristics can be appreciated with a lock usually seen and used within a bank vault. As one continues through the inventors dream home and passes by the staircase made of industrial level steel, the welcoming of a doubleheight living space showcases the union between domains for experimentation and living. As such, the use of black granite counters with an inbuilt Bunsen burner on the island table allows for the owner to do their own research within the comfort of their home with views over Lake Washington.

To connect to the surrounds, giant glass panel doors have been installed across one wall of the living space – once opened, the living room becomes a deck space in which the owner can enjoy all year round. The main living quarters cantilever off a thick steel pipe, which also services the living room’s fireplace. Upstairs, a loft has been stationed to be a think space for the inventor, while located on the ground floor is the mechanical room. Seen as the most important room within the inventors dream house, the undercroft of the home showcases an expression of all the mechanics and systems to the home, while also becoming celebration of everyone involved in the process.

In the materiality palette of the inventors dream house, the architect uses weathered steel on the exterior as well as the interior – the cladded elements within the home have been waxed to allow for the steel to remain in its natural finish as it came out of the factory. Additionally, concrete covers the floor to further allow for the owner to experiment with ease. Matched with the light and dark walls is the cabinetry, which is created from a dense particle board that has been stained and finished with a flat clear lacquer over the top. Designed to be a union between an assembly of pieces, the inventors dream house is finished and made to evolve in the wet weather so to become one with its surrounds.

00:00 Introduction to the Inventors Dream House
00:23 The Pacific NorthWest
00:37 Liquid Light
00:48 An Inventors Brief
01:36 The Caterpillar Yellow
01:58 A Walkthrough of the Home and the Experimental Spaces
02:25 The View
02:56 A Cantilevered Home
03:09 The Mechanical Room
03:41 Blurring the Boundaries Between Living and Experimenting
04:16 The Materials
05:27 Little Surprises at the Hands of the Craftsmen
06:14 It's About 'How Things Work'

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Photography by Aaron Leitz.
Architecture and Interior Design by Olson Kundig.
Filmed and Edited by Cheer Film Squad Co.
Production by The Local Project.

The Local Project acknowledges the traditional territories and homelands of the Indigenous peoples in the United States. We recognise the importance of Indigenous peoples in the identity of our respective countries and continuing connections to Country and community. We pay our respect to Elders, past and present and extend that respect to all Indigenous people of these lands.

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