Situated on a bright corner lot in Seattle’s dense Capitol Hill neighborhood, the North Hill House successfully frames commanding views of the city while still providing a private enclave for its residents. Inspired by the forms of origami, the home was envisioned as a stark bachelor’s house but emerged as a warm, light-filled family home in response to the client’s evolving needs.

This evolution of design, and its Japanese influence, is evident from the home’s exterior. Its form is that of two boxes, one cedar and one concrete, nested and tied together with a vertical ribbon of dark-stained cedar, drawing visitors to its entry. This interplay of form and materiality is best experienced inside the front door, where visitors are greeted by a fir and steel staircase that serves as the backbone of the house, drawing the eye towards the full-height ceilings three stories above.

Set back to provide privacy from the street, the living room and kitchen unfold at the base of the staircase, stepping down to a more intimate scale. The two-story living room leads to the open marble kitchen. A warm-wood ceiling connects the kitchen and dining room in the northwest corner of the house to help balance the scale of the entry and living room. Two walls of windows in the dining room frame the greenery of the neighborhood and provide an active backdrop to family dinners and cocktail parties. Tucked away off the dining room is the home office, where street-facing windows provide welcome breaks for the residents when working from home.

Bedrooms on the lower and upper levels are thoughtfully situated away from the interruptions of urban life. Downstairs, large windows let in full light, while the windows upstairs are lifted 24” off the floor to provide adequate privacy. In the master bathroom, a deep stand-alone bath fills the corner offering an expansive view across town to Queen Anne Hill.

Climbing the stairs once more, a spacious roof deck offers a view of Lake Union, North Seattle, and a glimpse of the Space Needle. The dark cedar ribbon from the exterior entrance is continued up the home’s façade, wrapping above the origami box to provide shelter for the roof deck.

At roughly 3,600 SF, the home is spacious but does not overwhelm its site or its visitors. Central to its design is the sculptural stair that anchors the home and acts as a functional focal point. As rooms move away from this point they transition from grand to intimate, providing a natural flow from the public to private areas. It is this marriage in scale and materiality, impressive and immersive, steel and marble, and wood and concrete, that reflects the nature of the North Hill Residence.