West Hills Residence

West Hills Residence is a 1,230-square-foot lower-level remodel in Portland’s West Hills by Fieldwork Design & Architecture. The work covers architecture, furniture, and interiors within an existing mid-century modern house above downtown Portland.

The brief was to renovate an indoor swimming pool room and convert unfinished basement utility and storage space into a wine cellar and changing room, while keeping the mid-century character of the house and improving the link to outdoor views of Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens.

Seven existing interior wood columns were replaced with four cedar-wrapped steel columns, and a four-panel, floor-to-ceiling sliding door system was added beside the redesigned pool. Sustainable measures listed by the firm include reusing framing from demolition, specifying Western red cedar and other locally sourced materials, upgrading HVAC and dehumidification equipment, insulating walls and ceilings with recycled-content insulation, and using low- or zero-VOC paint and finishes.

Collaborators listed by Fieldwork include Modern Organic and Munzing Structural. Photography by Brian Walker Lee.

The project received IIDA Design Excellence Awards for Best of Residential and GRAY’s Choice Award from GRAY Magazine, and was covered by Portland Monthly, GRAY, and The Oregonian.