Gillespie Butte Lot 7
Butler Homes bought a lot on Gillespie Butte with views of the Three Sisters and asked me to design something worth the view. Cedar and stone. Deep overhangs. A house that looks like it’s been there longer than it has.
Spec home — designed like someone already lived there.
The site
Gillespie Butte is one of those Eugene neighborhoods where the land tells you what to do if you listen. The lot slopes gently south and west, with mature Douglas firs on the north side and an uninterrupted view of the Three Sisters to the east. Most builders would have graded it flat and dropped a box on top. We let the house step with the terrain instead — three levels that follow the contour, so every room has a slightly different relationship to the ground.
The challenge
This is a spec home, which means it has to appeal to someone I’ve never met. That’s a strange design problem. You can’t ask about their morning routine or whether they read in bed. So I designed it the way I’d want to live: open where it matters, private where it counts, and oriented so the kitchen gets morning light across the valley while the living room catches the sunset.
Materials
Cedar siding with a natural finish that will silver over time. A basalt stone base that ties the house to the hillside. Standing-seam metal roof in a dark bronze. Deep overhangs — 3 feet on the south side — because in Oregon, the overhang is the first thing that makes a house livable. Without it, you’re staring at rain for seven months.
What I learned
Designing for an unknown client forces clarity. Every decision has to justify itself without the story of who lives there. It’s a good exercise — it stripped away the decorative and left only what’s essential. I think the house is better for it.
3,200 sf
4
0.28 acres, south-facing slope
Cedar, basalt stone, standing-seam metal
Ductless heat pump + radiant floors
Design development, construction 2026
Drake Architecture + Butler Homes / Future B Construction