Wittman Estes Architecture + Landscape is a Seattle based collaboration between architect Matt Wittman and landscape designer Jody Estes, founded on the idea that buildings and landscapes could be combined into one interconnected whole. The office is known for innovative designs for custom residential spaces, energy positive prefab housing, multifamily housing, and their ability to design for sensitive ecological sites.
We believe architecture should be based on connecting to nature and experience, and not be about making new shapes and precious objects. Living spaces should be innovative and experimental, but also comfortable and cozy. Housing should be modern and refined, but also have depth and richness of material and detail. Architecture and landscapes should be beautiful and timeless contributions to the cities and geographies they are part of.
Why we started the office
Wittman Estes came from the realization that in our cities and surroundings, buildings and landscapes were being designed as separate entities. The fields of architecture and landscape design were operating out of sync with each other. The rapid densification of American cities, and our carbon footprint and environmental concerns were at the forefront of people’s minds, but they way buildings were designed was stuck in the past. Modern housing, despite it’s ambition to elevate quality of life, was too often internalized and object focused, and was in sharp contrast to people’s love of nature and a lifestyle that valued a connection to the outdoors.
We set out to offer clients an integrated design process, where architecture is based on nature, and landscape design is integral to the built elements and functional lifestyle of your specific situation and place. We focus on the play of natural light, smooth thresholds between inside and outside, a richness of natural materials, and most importantly, how people live in and experience the built spaces they inhabit.
Working with Wittman Estes
Wittman Estes is a dedicated team of architects and designers focused on bringing your project from concept through finished construction and lived reality. We have built a collaborative community of engineers, environmental consultants, builders, artisans, and other allied professionals to design, permit, and oversee the construction of buildings and outdoor spaces with the goal of bringing the highest quality finished product for the least cost and fastest timeline.
LOCATION: Seattle, Washington
LEARN MORE: wittman-estes.com
The Peach Court Residence by Wittman Estes represents a thoughtful modern renovation of a 1910 Seattle Craftsman home, with seamless landscape connections across all three levels. The design introduces a fresh balance of old and new, breathing new life into this historic home while preserving its traditional charm.
The Othello Gardens’ neighborhood in Seattle is in the middle of a transformation from single-family to a denser, multi-family mid-rise neighborhood.
Lakeside West apartment is a re-imagined urban condominium that transforms an outdated mid-century dwelling into a highly organized and functional dwelling for a single man.
Tsuga Townhomes set out to resolve this paradox of low cost and high quality, working to achieve excellent sustainable design while balancing the construction cost proforma.
Located between the iconic Space Needle and the rapidly transforming South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle, the Civic Hotel is a newly renovated boutique hotel at the corner of Harrison Street and Aurora Ave N.
Aldo Beach House transforms a 1940s beach house into a new multi-generational home—doubling the livable area while lightly touching the delicate ecology of the waterfront.
Through a series of thresholds from opaque to transparent, Yo-Ju Courtyard House, which means “secluded living” in Mandarin Chinese, embraces the future of suburban density by establishing a private experience despite being adjacent to a busy arterial street in the Clyde Hill neighborhood of Bellevue.
Grasshopper Courtyard Studio offers an alternative density called courtyard urbanism. Maintaining the small footprint of a 1940s house (the lot is 4,500 square feet), a multifunctional 360-square-foot studio was added along the rear alley.
