1859 Summer 2009

y Stephanie Boyle Mays
Design
On the western edge of Bend,
where forest and old burn areas
converge, and where a city
park and a private subdivision
meet, sits a modern house nestled into a hill, sheltered against the wind
but open to the sun and mountain views.
“This house is all about siting,” says Christian Gladu, the home’s designer.
“The unspoken rule of the project was answering the question:
How does the house fit into the landscape?”
Gladu collaborated with homeowner Jeff Pickhardt to build the
house. Pickhardt, a partner in Taylor Pickhardt Development, and
Gladu had worked together on other projects and shared the same set
of design priorities. Owner of The Bungalow Company in Bend, Gladu
has worked on custom-home and stock-plan projects in almost every
state. He has also written two books on the bungalow style.
Gladu and Pickhardt set out to design and build an energy efficient
house from materials found in the Northwest. The 4,000-square-foot
house with three bedrooms and 3½-bathrooms was built in 2007, has
photovoltaic panels that provide electricity, heat water, power the radiant
floor heating system and is tied to the grid. In addition, it is built
of insulated concrete forms that not only provide better insulation but
also help absorb sound.
Clad in stucco, rock and Douglas fir, contemporary shapes and angles
are softened by the use of materials endemic to Oregon. Blurring
lines between materials and style, and indoors and outdoors were additional
goals of the designer and homeowner, according to Pickhardt.
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