Nuts About the Walnut House

In the eight or nine years I've been following design in Portland, architect Dave Giulietti has been a constant presence. An unassuming teddy-bear of a guy, Dave was president of the AIA/Portland chapter back in 1999, when I first met him and we began a series of friendly Yankees-Mets arguments (my allegiances are in the Bronx, his in Queens). But more importantly, his firm, originally Giulietti & Associates, now Giulietti/Schouten Architects with the inclusion of partner Tim Schouten, has produced one nice house in this area after the other. They're not too proud to take on a kitchen remodel, but they also routinely have houses in local/regional home magazines like Oregon Home and Sunset, the latter of which a few years ago featured a Giulietti-designed home as the magazine's "Idea House".

One of Giulietti/Schouten's latest completed projects, the Walnut House, may be the firm's best work yet.

The house is situated a few miles outside of McMinnville, which coincidentally is where I grew up. The house is situated in a walnut grove, long part of the wishes of the client, a retiring Bay Area writer. And the house takes advantage of its vista, which offers views of both Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson.

As you can see from the pictures, this is a wonderfully glassy, spacious design. Any good project needs a good client, ideally one not only with money but an appreciation of architecture. In this case, the client was a fan of Eichler homes and other midcentury modern work in California. The architects worked with a simple material palette of wood, glass and metal with ample volumes to create what seems to me like a very inviting place inside and out. Kudos to the Giulietti/Schouten team for this excellent project.

Comments

[bc]

The house has a definite atrium look to it with all of the tall glass walls.

[matthew]

BORING

[Frank Dufay]

That is NOT the way my kitchen counters look. And, geez, all those outlets...and no appliances. I'd rather see a real "working" kitchen. :-)

[ws]

That view of the kitchen looks like it must be bar side, since there's no appliances visible. Set your bartender up there for parties. And that lo-o-ng expanse of counter with the outlets, you plug in your warming trays for the buffet.

I really like the interior of the house, based on that shot. All those windows.

From the outside, the house does look a little boring. The architect could have used the basic rectangular form a little more energetically, or maybe introduced just a few quirky irregularities to make the whole thing have a little more zip.

[Lyle]

I stongly disagree with comments indicating this is boring. This is a beautiful example of contemporary architecture. I find it the opposite of boring ... with clean lines, good proportions, nice finishes, etc. The open layout appears quite functional but I don't know where they are storing the appliances either. Usually applicances that are put away behind garage doors on the counter top (for easy access). Giulietti is very talented and I would like to see him do more contemporary northwest (minor asian influence?) work.

[Darin]

I feel it's important to note as architects and designers, we are experts at shooting ourselves in the foot. While this house may not be everyone's "flavor", I think Giulietti, as well as any other architect doing single family residential work, deserves kudos.

I'm guessing if code didn't require an outlet every 2', they wouldn't be there.

As Portlanders, we tend to pat ourselves on the back with our great city. We can walk to stores, pubs, theaters. Have any of you knocking this project ever been to our beautiful suburbs? We're no better than anytown USA. Our first order as architects is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people, yet we allow schlocky, environmental and socially harmful tract developments to surround our town. Perhaps we should be patting the backs of the architects who can put their ego aside to work on the buildings we live in...

[kolas]

i too disagree that this house is boring...and btw that one liner, in articulate respond by matthew does not warrant a comment.

It's a beautiful house! It's what i call liveable modern. It's a house that blends itself with it's beautiful site. It's a house that celebrates the views and blurs the boundaries between the inside and outside.

Clean, warm materials coupled with simple lines.. kudos..

It's easier to make things complex..(or you call it more zippy.) than designing architecture exudes simplicity and modesty.

I don't know about frank, but this kitchen looks like it works to me..uncluttered because of all the built-in storage.

[Keith Daly]

This house is really beautiful, and it looks like the architect took full advantage of the site in which it was built. It astounds me that contemporary residential architecture receives such a harsh rap in this city while building Old is so welcome.

[randy]

just what portland needs another faux midcentury modern building.

[matthew]

Wow! It's great to see that my admittedly juvenile previous posting [BORING!] has generated such response. In all fairness, the house is very nice in certain respects: gentle landscaping, clean lines and good placement, and windows for days. These are certainly improvements from the stock housing of yesterday.

That does not, however, change the fact that this is really little more than a pretty good (and surely stupidly expensive) example of current stock housing. It's as if a chunk of the Metropolitan, the latest Pearl condo tower, was carefully removed and plopped in the middle of semi-nowhere. It is an improvement on older models, but let's not kid ourselves and say that this is somehow reinventing the wheel.

I do stand by my previous statement, however, in considering the choices made in hardware, lighting, furniture, and general spartan, soul-free feel. BORING!

And yet, I suppose that's not very constructive or mature, so I will rephrase: In considering the home's lighting, kitchen design, etc., does anyone else find themselves growing weary of this generic 'design within (someone else's) reach' sensibility that just won't stop? Are we all really that easy to please?

There, that's better.

[Dave]

This is an excellent house. It's modern and regionally appropriate, with large windows to take advantage of natural light and the beautiful views. I love it. Comments such as "boring" are nothing more than immaturity. In a region where 99% of new houses are either fake craftsman or some otherwise fake historical style, this rational choice of house design is a much needed breath of fresh air! Thank you Portland Architecture Blog for sharing this with us.

[matthew]

This is getting fun. But I wish Dave had responded to my second posting, rather than my first. I already admitted to immaturity (and will go ahead and throw in an apology while I'm at it - sorry for using this forum inappropriately). And I would never say that this home is anything but "rational." My point was that it was perhaps too rational. Who LIVES here?

Thanks.

[kolas]

i think we've all seen this kind of work before.. it's rational and does not break new grounds...innovative design, not so much.. 100% better than all the mc mansions or "streets of screams" definitely. it beats the alternative.. i see matthew's point of view of challenging the norm.. but i'll take this house before all the cookie cutter builders' home anytime..

[Dave]

Matthew, the hardware, lighting, kitchen design, and furniture is all consistent with modernism, which is consistent with the architecture of the house, and is consistent with the era in which we live. Perhaps you're not a fan of modernism? Or perhaps you would prefer a warmer version of modernism? If that's the case, I understand, if this was my house, I probably would have gone for wood beams instead of metal, and cedar siding on the exterior instead of concrete.

Anyways, the main reason photos like that look "spartan" is because they're professionally staged for the purpose of taking beautiful photos. In reality, the people who live there probably have kids alphabet magnets on the fridge, clothes on the floor, and dirty dishes in the sink. :)

[ac]

when marcel wanders was in PDX, he expressed something simple and very intriguing. he said that the design community should support itself instead of derisively competing (which he indicated was anything from competitively undercutting fees to backbiting criticism and more).

i agree with matthew that it is not a discipline-changing design, however it is a very pleasing, high quality design for a client that likely didn't want to be on architecture's razor's edge

my applause to giuliette/schouten for recognizing opportunities and making good work happen!