cutler LAYOUT - Reveal Designs

world class architect
meet jim cutler
Internationally
acclaimed
architect
Jim Cutler
partners with
Lindal Cedar
Homes to bring a
quality and conservation-oriented
aesthetic to a
wider audience
By Claire Walter
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B E N J A M I N B E N S C H N E I D E R / T H E S E AT T L E T I M E S
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Seattle architect Jim Cutler
Page 49: Architect Jim
Cutler; Opposite: The
core of Reflection Home’s
Far Horizon plan features
one bedroom, two baths;
its small footprint makes
has forged an international reputation with his spacious, clean-lined,
environmentally friendly buildings that harmonize seamlessly with
their surroundings. When Smithsonian profiled him in 1996, the
article was titled, “Houses Built to Move the Spirit—and Save
Trees.” Recent projects undertaken by his firm, Cutler Anderson
Architects of Seattle, have ranged geographically from Mallorca, off
the coast of Spain, to California’s Napa Valley, and in terms of scale
and purpose from heralded public buildings to secluded residences.
At last count, the firm had garnered half a dozen American Institute
of Architects National Honor Awards and more than 30 other
national and regional honors.
Cutler made news for his work on Xanadu, Microsoft mogul Bill
Gates $97 million, 40,000-square-foot residence on Seattle’s Lake
Washington. The home’s high-tech features garnered the publicity in
the general media, but design aficionados and architecture buffs were
equally impressed by the beautiful proportions in so large and complex a structure. Gates, of course, could afford to hire any architect on
the planet to design anything from a cottage to a castle and build it
virtually anywhere he wished, but he had been intrigued by Cutler’s
sensitivity to conservation, thrift, ecology-mindedness and even spirituality. Cutler simply says, “We try to fit buildings into landscapes to
impact the land as little as possible.”
Cutler came by his philosophy early in his career, when he worked
in the studio of the legendary Louis I. Kahn, whose complex philosophy manifested itself in deceptively simple structures that used
materials, color, line, shape, light and each site itself in a groundbreaking contemporary fashion. Cutler, who says that his mentor
“had a depth of insight into the human condition,” has applied those
concepts to his own projects.
Cutler’s approach drew raves at Lindal Cedar Homes, a company
that has raised post-and-beam construction to a high art, incorporating natural materials and large windows to bring in light and showcase
the immediate surroundings and views beyond. Lindal and Cutler are
a natural fit. Both practice economy and efficiency, while sacrificing
nothing in the way of aesthetics or ambience. Their joint project, Lindal Reflection Homes, is all of that—and more.
The landmark partnership between Cutler and Lindal is so notable
in part because it combines the talents of a world-class designer and
the efficiency of custom home construction at a lower price. But that’s
just part of the equation.
“We are trying to bring a higher standard of building materials than
is normally seen in the construction industry, and that implies respect
for the land. Neither is currently apparent in American mass-market
building,” Cutler says. He speaks poetically, even messianically about
building with quality and integrity.
it ideal for narrow or
restricted lots.
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With a wall of glass connecting it
to the surrounding landscape, Far
Horizon is intimate yet expansive,
a powerful expression of quiet
restraint; optional wings connect
to the core via glass corridors.
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With ethics and aesthetics on the same plane, Cutler and
Lindal went to work creating the Reflection Home series,
for which Cutler has so far “pre-designed” two very distinct
plans, respectively called Early Leaf and Far Horizon.
The adaptability of Lindal plans to meet owners’ desires
and specific requirements of each site on which a residence
is built is well known, but for this project Cutler and Lindal
had to develop a design system that could accommodate
that client need without necessitating a redesign of a very
complex building by Cutler Anderson.
The Pattern Design System is an innovative mix-andmatch approach, in which a core and optional wings are
connected via insulated glass corridors. While the core can
be changed only minimally, the wings were designed with
change in mind. They can be shrunk or expanded, and
rotated to fit the environmental needs of the land or to take
advantage of views. Their function changes, too. They
might be used as bedrooms, den or garage, for example.
Depending on the options a homeowner chooses, a finished
Open
Bedroom
Far Horizon
Closet
38917
Bath
bedrooms
three
bathrooms
2 full + 1 half
LOFT FLOOR
bedroom wing
640 sq. ft.
core main floor
1,016 sq. ft.
core loft
728 sq. ft.
garage wing
680 sq. ft.
TO BUILD YOUR LINDAL CEDAR HOME FROM THESE PLANS, CALL 1 888 4 LINDAL
Great Room
halls/decks
564 sq. ft.
total area
3,628 sq. ft.
© Lindal Cedar Homes
Kitchen
Bedroom
Bedroom
Garage
Entry
MAIN FLOOR
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Reflection Home can range in scale and size from a modest
1,700 square feet to a generous 4,500 square feet. But all that
customization doesn’t require additional meetings with the architect at
additional cost; customization is built in. Utilizing this concept, the
home costs approximately half of what many comparably sized
Cutler-designed homes do.
Yet the architect is involved in every home beyond the plans themselves. Each Lindal Reflection Home dealer supplies Cutler
Anderson Architects with photographs and a detailed site plan with
contours, plant scheme noting significant trees, information on
views, zoning issues and other information key to situating the
home on the site, which the firm does. This custom evaluation and
siting gives homeowners the expertise of a prestigious architectural
firm while assuring minimal ecological impact—and the results bear
out this hands-on touch.
For an additional fee, clients who wish to do so may also meet personally with Cutler or his partner Bruce Anderson.
For Jim Cutler, the Reflection Homes are a way of taking his beliefs
to a broader market without compromising quality in materials or
construction. For Lindal, it is a way to offer clients the services of a
top architectural firm at an affordable price. And for those clients, well,
it’s their own private Xanadu.
Claire Walter is a freelance writer based in Boulder, Colorado.
A soft palette, natural wood
and architectural detail that is
strikingly clean and spare form
a space that is at once elegant
and earthy, fitting effortlessly
into the natural environment.
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