A Modern Intervention in a Storied Setting In 1959, architect Roland Terry was commissioned to design a modern cabana and pool terrace for a private home in north Seattle. The 2.3-acre property, expansive and park-like, was defined by mature evergreens and rolling lawns that descended toward a 60-foot bluff above Puget Sound. The Original Residence and Landscape The original two-story brick residence, built in 1930, had over the decades become seamlessly integrated with its landscape. Climbing ivy was carefully trained to cover the tall masonry walls, deliberately binding the house to its established setting and highlighting the owners’ respect for the remarkable northwest site. Positioned at the highest point of the property, the home’s formal rooms and terraces offered sweeping views across the grounds and out to the Sound. Roland Terry’s Architectural Vision Terry faced the challenge of inserting a substantial built landscape into this park-like setting while establishing a respectful yet contrasting relationship with the traditional house. Utilizing the steep topography, he introduced a monumental stair aligned with the geometry of the original residence, creating a strong axial reference. Beyond this gesture, his design shifted to a modern language of abstraction: the pool’s rectilinear form and the cabana’s flat roof—topped with white marble chips for appreciation from above—were conceived in deliberate contrast to the traditional brick mass on the hill. Set against the evergreens and coastline, the cabana echoed Terry’s later Lopez Island pavilion, featured on the cover of Architectural Digest in 1989, where modern architecture and the northwest landscape were deliberately layered to create space with a light touch. Here, the cabana’s marble-chip roof and the ivy-clad masonry walls continued that strategy of integration with the landscape. Renewal and Re-imagining By 2020, after eight years in the house, new owners were confronted with a deteriorated terrace: the pool leaked, equipment had failed, and the once-elegant surfaces were cracked and unstable. Wanting to preserve the original design’s spirit while revitalizing its use, they turned to E. Cobb Architects Partners, experienced with several other Roland Terry houses in the Seattle area. The architects recommended Alchemie Landscape Architects as part of the design team. Working together, the team reimagined the terrace with new steps, water features, plantings, and amenities. A new concrete retaining wall allowed the stairs to be reconfigured, capturing more poolside space. The grand central stair was replaced with a discrete, asymmetrical descent, altering the connection between house and terrace and giving the lower level a sense of destination while remaining only 25 feet from the residence. Terrace Expansion and Modern Features The terrace was expanded in both directions: eastward beside the new stair, and westward with a cantilevered platform for dining and lounging that frames sunset views. In addition, the terrace plantings bounding the north and south sides of the terrace were removed, enabling more visibility and connection of the pool terrace from the surrounding landscape. The original pool was changed to a more slender lap pool connected to new linear water features by slatted wooden bridges. Together, these features wrap the entire cabana in a reflective perimeter of water, blurring edges with infinity details, and capturing mirrored images of sky and Sound. Landscape Integration and Recreation The original bluff-top tennis court was replaced with a more compact pickleball court, tucked into the hillside and largely concealed beneath the cantilevered deck. Around the orthogonal terrace, the surrounding evergreens preserve privacy while the lawns roll naturally toward the bluff, maintaining the property’s park-like character. A Cabana for a New Era At the heart of this renewed composition stands Terry’s cabana. With only modest updates to its windows and cabinetry, it has been prepared for a new life. Its roof, now layered with the same dark pebbles used inside the water features, remains a central abstract element in dialogue with the terrace, landscape, and Sound.