Henry Island Guesthouse

Project highlights: Henry Island Guesthouse

• Architecture firm: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
• Location: Henry Island, Wash.
• Category: Two
• Project site: Previously developed
• Building program type(s): Residential - single-family detached 

On a secluded site in Washington’s San Juan Islands, the Henry Island Guesthouse is a new addition to a main residence the team previously designed. The sensitively scaled dwelling reflects the vocabulary of the main home while also forging its own identity and allows a new set of owners to welcome family and friends for extended periods.

The initial residence on the 24-acre property was designed in 2012 and sits in a central meadow that overlooks a nearby shallow bay. New owners purchased the property in 2016 and reengaged the team for a guesthouse that respects the character of the island and its few scattered homes. The guesthouse’s location was informed by the experience of arriving to the island by boat, where a winding path leads from a dock through quiet woodlands before ultimately arcing back to the main residence.

For a young family from Seattle, the main home is a summer retreat from the bustle and congestion of city life. The idyllic Henry Island is not serviced by any ferries, and the clients enjoy hiking, kayaking, and sailing the remote setting with family and friends. While the original home is quite spacious, it was designed to accommodate a single family. 

The 1,350-square-foot guesthouse sits uphill from the primary home and marks the transition from dense forest to sunlit meadow. One end is anchored into the gentle slope, while its opposite hovers above the landscape upon slender columns. The program includes a pair of bedroom suites, each with distinguishing characteristics requested by the client, and a central living area that features a small kitchen where guests can begin and end their day on the island. The guesthouse’s adjacency to the main residence fosters a connection between both buildings while still maintaining privacy and respect for the site’s natural characteristics.

Materials for the main residence comprised steel, exposed Douglas fir framing, and glass, with weathered steel and cedar wrapping the exterior. Similar materials were used in the guesthouse to form a visual link between the two. The guesthouse’s entrance is signaled by a cast-in-place concrete ledge, which further tethers the building to the earth, and an aperture within the steel wall. Drawing inspiration from the main residence’s breezeway, the guesthouse’s form was envisioned as a covered porch flanked by its bedroom suites. Large sliding-glass doors that disappear into the walls on two sides open the space to the sights, smells, and sounds of the secluded island.