Whidbey Uparati: Light Timber Structure for a Meditative Retreat Home
Whidbey Uparati sits in Island County, WA, United States, as a house by Wittman Estes. The family retreat is designed for uparati—stillness—set lightly above a meadow. It folds a courtyard plan, cedar cladding, and wide glazing into a quiet, high-point perch with views to Useless Bay and the Olympic Mountains, aiming for connection to land and shared rituals.
Meadow grasses brush the path as the ground slowly rises. A muted cedar volume sits above the slope, its glazing open to water, wind, and distant peaks.
This is a house for retreat and gathering in Island County, designed by Wittman Estes with a clear structural order at its core. A 1,880-square-foot plan holds bedrooms, a multi-purpose room, and a shared living-kitchen that orients to a west deck and courtyard. Material restraint and a rational frame steer the experience.
Ground Frame Roots
Rather than a concrete foundation, the house stands on a Ground Frame system of micro piles that pin into the earth like roots. The approach reduces excavation and carbon, lifting the structure lightly above the meadow while keeping drainage and vegetation intact. With the body set just off grade, the building feels present yet deferential to the field.
Gridded Timber Order
A simple wood structure runs on a 4’ grid, using off-the-shelf TJIs to span between columns and walls at 12’ and 16’ intervals. The logic trims waste and compresses timeline, but it also gives rooms an easy cadence and legible rhythm. Plywood walls, a cedar tongue-and-groove ceiling, and white oak flooring keep the palette grounded and warm.
Compression to Vista
Arrival climbs a steady slope and then a set of entry stairs to the high point. A low ceiling at the threshold compresses the body before a step down releases the view to Useless Bay and the Olympic Mountains. Floor-to-ceiling glass pulls sightlines through the living room and kitchen, with a west-facing deck extending daily life into summer light.
Courtyard in Meadow
The plan turns inward around a crushed granite patio centered by a reflecting pool, firepit, and a single Stewartia. Doors open to set up cross-breezes and a calm microclimate, while the courtyard frames sky and passing cloud. Beyond, a path loops five acres through rewilded grasses and summer bloom—Cone flowers, feather grasses, and sage—toward a future meditation pavilion.
Cinematic Light
Inside, neutral finishes hold the eye on light and shadow as they shift by hour. The sequence reads like cuts: tight entry, open living volume, then quiet rooms set for contemplation. Transparency invites shared time without shutting out the meadow’s soundscape.
Evening drops and the cedar deepens while the pool holds the last light. Structure, plan, and finish recede to let water, wind, and grass take the lead. Stillness carries the house.
Photography by Andrew Pogue
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