Deschutes River

I never would have guessed that one could still find acreage right on the Deschutes River within the Bend city limits, but out client managed to do just that. The site sits above a massive basalt field separating the build site from a particularly picturesque section of rapids with a steep rock face across the river. The first step in the process was carefully demolishing an existing home built in the early 70s and a manufactured home and manage the asbestos abatement. Steve Van Sant designed the main house to take advantage of the big views and the refined lodge architecture fits well in this environment. After Steve’s design was finished, the homeowner decided to build a guest house, which Blair Davis designed to match the aesthetics of the main house. Both structures have large decks, looking up and downstream, making the panoramic view that much better. A big challenge, beyond the design, on this project was figuring out a septic system. The site had four structures and two failed septic systems on it to start with, and sat right above the river and on a basalt shelf. All of this made siting a new septic system large enough for the two new structures very challenging, but working with a soil scientist, we designed a system that would work with all of the limitations of the site. We’re happy to be building in such a beautiful place and love seeing the homes taking shape.