A Secluded Hideaway Designed for Active, Nature-Focused Living

Photo: Adam Rouse

Set against the high-desert landscape of Bend, Oregon, this retreat by Feldman Architecture is designed with an active lifestyle in mind. Built for empty nesters relocating from Portland, the home balances privacy, performance, and connection to the outdoors and offers a long-term escape tailored to both daily routines and future retirement.

Photo: Adam Rouse

The clients envisioned a residence that could comfortably accommodate themselves, their two dogs, and visiting family, while supporting an active lifestyle with features like a lap pool and home gym. The responding design reacts delicately to the complex site, shielding occupants from neighbors to the northeast while opening westward into a 650-acre nature preserve, providing hiking and cross-country skiing access as well as uninterrupted forested views. 

Photo: Adam Rouse

The balance between privacy and openness heavily influenced the home’s design. The desire for privacy from the north and dramatic openness and views to the west set the building on conflicting orientations, further complicated by the site’s sloping topography. These constraints led to a floor plan that sets two distinct wings at unique orientations. The great room turns outward to capture expansive views, while the bedroom wing extends perpendicularly, creating a protective edge against both neighboring properties and prevailing winds.

Photo: Adam Rouse

This elongated private wing also shelters an outdoor lap pool and adjacent sitting area, forming a quiet, wind-protected courtyard while maintaining visual connection to the surrounding landscape. A glassy, windowed bridge links the two spaces, creating a moment of compression and release while reinforcing the home’s connection to the preserve.

Photo: Adam Rouse

Courtyards carved into the private wing invite daylight and garden views into guest rooms and offices. In contrast, the great room dramatically expands and opens vertically, immersing occupants into the neighboring nature preserve. Clerestory windows draw in natural light and frame views of the surrounding tree canopy, while large sliding doors open to an outdoor firepit and sitting area – creating the perfect setting for indoor-outdoor living during warm Oregon summer nights.

Photo: Adam Rouse

Materially, the home reflects the clients’ affinity for modern design, shaped in part by their previous residence designed by Richard Neutra. Crisp geometries and a restrained palette of concrete, black steel, white plaster, and warm wood grace the interiors, while the exterior relies on non-combustible paneling suited to the mountainous environment. Sliding wood screens add warmth and texture while providing adaptable shading – allowing for both passive heating and cooling during chilly winter and hot summer months alike.

Photo: Adam Rouse

High-performance goals informed key aspects of the design, from building orientation to the treatment of its glassy façades, ensuring year-round comfort and energy efficiency. Through careful orientations, thoughtful material choices, and a nuanced response to climate and landscape, Bend Hideaway is a modern retreat that supports both active living and quiet moments of refuge.

Photo: Adam Rouse

PROJECT DETAILS                                     

ARCHITECTURE – Feldman Architecture
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE – Cahill Design
BUILDER – Copperline Homes, Inc.
LIGHTING DESIGN – Kim Cladas Lighting Design
CIVIL ENGINEER: Sun Country Engineering

Jonathan Feldman, FAIA, is the Founding Partner of Feldman Architecture, an architecture and interiors studio that’s highly responsive to both people and place. Founded in San Francisco in 2003, Feldman Architecture sees each project as an opportunity to create an innovative solution that is carefully crafted and site sensitive. Visit their site or contact them at inquiry@feldmanarch.com.

Sponsored content for this article provided by Feldman Architecture.