Design Principals: Claus Benjamin Freyinger, Andrew Holder
Project Team: Noah Rubin
Type: Single-Family Residence
Location: Nestucca Keys, Oregon
Year: 2006
Status: Realized

Designed by re-appropriating the principles of a regional vernacular style, this 1,500 square-foot vacation home is sited adjacent to wetlands prone to cyclical flooding. The project responds to the physical demands of its environment by elevating the living space one storey above a porous concrete garage level that allows water to flow freely through it. Instead of attempting to resist the accumulation of water with an impervious membrane, the house anticipates and acquiesces to inevitable flooding so that the property can drain and dry out as effectively as it floods.  In it's ability to absorb the cyclically fluctuations of the environment, the Puentes Beach Cottage pushes itself to the edge of the adjacent wetlands, allowing the family to utilize the surroundings, mooring their boat just a few steps away from the back door.