North South House Suspends a Family Cabin Above a Forested Ridge Site
North South House sits on a ridge in San Juan County, WA, United States, with Allied8 behind the 1,300 SF cabin’s measured footprint and lift. The house is a compact retreat for three generations, shaped by north–south outlooks and a precise structural strategy. Its long gable holds living and sleeping rooms that open to forest light, while a steel moment frame touches the land at only six points.
Evening light threads through firs as the cabin hovers above the ridge. One end cantilevers toward the trees, its warm windows reading like lanterns along the slope.
This is a small house for a wide family. Allied8 arranges the 1,300 SF cabin as a long gabled bar, set on a steel moment frame that meets the ground at six points to spare the forest floor. The story here is structural clarity steering every move.
Raise the Volume
Anchored lightly, the building lifts off the ridge so needles, rock, and runoff pass undisturbed under the belly. That modest touch allows a confident reach at the southern end, where the floor jets forward and pulls the room into the trees. Steps arrive on grade, then slip to a narrow deck that skirts outcroppings without cutting them.
Truss the Room
Inside, painted trusses span the gable and set a crisp rhythm above living, dining, and kitchen. The structure stays visible, giving the main room its cadence and a loft to inhabit between chords. A simple ladder climbs to that perch, framed by cables and a timber platform that turns the roof volume into a bright retreat.
Openings to Two Seas
Glazing tracks the cardinal pull: large panes take in southern light and distant East Sound, while north windows look to the Salish Sea and farther city glimmer. A corner door swings wide to the trees, and a long window bench nests along one wall for quiet watching. Views are directional instruments, not decoration.
Lean Interior Bones
Cabinetry runs in a straight line with open shelves and a concrete-hued backsplash, keeping the load low and the span clear. The dining table centers the plan under a single pendant, with daylight washing in from both sides to flatten glare. Down the hall, a bunk room, built-in storage, and a glassy bath stack efficiently, ending in a calm bedroom beside a tall picture window.
Clad for the Woods
Outside, vertical boards weather toward the surrounding bark while a standing-seam roof caps the simple silhouette. Wide, square openings read plainly in the façade, signaling the skeletal order inside without fuss. The whole cabin rests quiet among trunks, its six-point footing system doing the heavy lifting so the forest doesn’t have to.
At dusk, the trusses glow and the ridge keeps its cool air. The house feels anchored by intent rather than mass, a measured hold on a generous horizon.
Photography by Rafael Soldi
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