Friday, October 4th. The shoes I wore to meet the architect....

would have been these boots had I actually met him. I didn’t, though. Mark came by the house last Friday to take measurements while I was at work. Here’s what we learned: 1). Our foundation does not meet code and is basically worthless as far as this remodel is concerned; 2). Turning the garage into an ADU (Seattle city code for Accessory Dwelling Unit) isn’t going to happen as things currently stand. A lot has to be 4,000 square feet to build a legal ADU. Ours is only 3,600. There are, however, ways around this if you’re working with a smart architect.

Lastly, I think, Mark came to assess the overall plot, climbing onto our roof to scope the views he’ll be designing for. Like Frederick Law Olmsted, gauging and respecting the genius of place:

Olmsted wanted his designs to stay true to the character of their natural surroundings. He referred to “the genius of a place,” a belief that every site has ecologically and spiritually unique qualities. The goal was to “access this genius” and let it infuse all design decisions.
This meant taking advantage of unique characteristics of a site while also acknowledging disadvantages.

The genius of this place? This 3,600 square foot plot on the top of Queen Anne Hill, once a forested rise inhabited by the Duwamish tribe before the Denny Party settled Seattle? The views. Of the Olympics and Bainbridge and Shilshole and the Cascades and Rainier and Baker and Elliott Bay. Yes, definitely the views.

And of the disadvantages? Well, honestly. I can’t think of any. This 3,600 square foot plot is perfect for me. This 3,600 square foot plot is home.