Longbranch by MW Works

With Longbranch, MW Works gently weaves a series of pavilion-like volumes along a sloping peninsula in Washington, forming a domestic experience fused with its raw natural context.

Over the last few decades, the original property had been unsympathetically logged and divided by a network of concrete retaining walls set into the land, prompting the clients to engage with the site’s rehabilitation alongside the creation of their home. MW Works builds upon this aspiration with a carefully crafted series of rectilinear forms nestled into the terrain that respond directly to the land, sun, trees and impressive vistas. “The primary impulse with this site, like much of our work, was about the landscape and how the building would sit lightly within it,” says MW Works founding partner Eric Walter.

“The primary impulse with this site, like much of our work, was about the landscape and how the building would sit lightly within it,” says MW Works founding partner Eric Walter.

The home rises unassumingly at the end of a sweeping gravel driveway, partially embedded into the land and projecting outwards on wooden piers towards the bay. Following the clients’ request, the primary living pavilion and detached garage flow around two existing Douglas fir trees, building a dramatic sense of approach and natural focal point.

The firs and surrounding forest inform the home’s vertical architectural expression, including black cedar cladding that wraps the rear bedrooms, the rhythmic timber structural extrusions and dark, slender window profiles. “Upon arrival, the landscape flows around the volumes of the home, creating unique outdoor spaces caught between the building and the earth,” Walter explains.

The simplicity of Longbranch’s rectilinear geometries paired with its deep-toned and restrained material palette exudes durability and integrity, allowing light and landscape to become the residence’s experiential focus.

The entrance to the living pavilion is accentuated by a seamless threshold of timber batten flooring and opens into the main living space, strikingly enclosed by full-height glazing to offer uninterrupted views to the outdoors. Warm, richly textured interior finishes made from locally sourced timber canopies, knotted oak joinery and rough-sawn fixtures become an internalised continuation of the forest, while accents of custom concrete mixes enhance the tactility of communal zones and evoke the peripheral boulders around the home.

Two concrete piles puncture the pavilion’s glazed perimeter and double as both an internal and external fireplace, the latter of which serves a generous outdoor deck facing the northern edge of the site. MW Works strategically maximises connections to natural light and inlet views through the sequencing of Longbranch’s public rooms, while the primary ensuite bedroom peels behind the tree line to the south to offer a greater sense of privacy and retreat. Meanwhile, multifunctional guest rooms and a spacious mudroom flank the living pavilion, emphasising the clients’ routines and lifestyle within the spatial organisation to ensure the longevity of the floor plan.

“There is a clarity and a simplicity to the way the building is put together … all these moments slip past one another bound up around the heart of the home.”

The simplicity of Longbranch’s rectilinear geometries paired with its deep-toned and restrained material palette exudes durability and integrity, allowing light and landscape to become the residence’s experiential focus. “There is a clarity and a simplicity to the way the building is put together … all these moments slip past one another bound up around the heart of the home.”

A planted green roof further blurs the boundary between built and naturally occurring elements, while enhancing the project’s underlining mission to carefully rejuvenate the site for posterity.

Architecture and interior design: MW Works. Build by Sparrow Woodworks. Landscape design by MW Works and Black Lotus Landscaping.