The story
- Basement
When the Space Needle rose over Seattle, architects Richard Bissell and Alexander Sasonoff were designing another vision of modern life across the bay. Built for a family who had lived in Japan, the house pairs Northwest materials with a Japanese appreciation for shelter, proportion, and the framed landscape. Heavy beams cross the wood ceiling, pass through walls of glass and continue over the broad deck. A double stone fireplace anchors open living area. Enormous windows frame ferries and cargo ships streaming across Puget Sound, marching clouds, and the towering Olympic mountains. A south-facing garden patio offers a respite with mature plantings, and a sculptural pine stands proudly in front. This is a home designed to look both outward and inward. A 2012 renovation updated the house without erasing what makes it special. Radiant heat, double-pane windows, seismic reinforcement, renewed systems, custom cabinetry, crafted built-ins, and a two-car garage add pragmatic comfort to exceptional design. Schmitz Preserve begins just outside the door. Alki Beach is nearby for waterfront walks and sunsets, while Admiral Junction supplies dinner, coffee, movies, groceries and the rhythms of a true neighborhood. Four generations have known this view. Offered beyond the family for the first time, the house is ready for someone new to look up whenever a ferry passes. If the Space Needle was Seattle’s spaceship, perhaps this was always meant to be its West Seattle docking station.
