Located in Portland’s West Hills, the designs for the Beulah Vista Residences were conceived as two speculative homes that needed to respond to a steep and highly constrained site. Process worked with the owner to evaluate the development potential of the property, test how each home could be positioned within the terrain, and establish a design approach that would maximize views toward downtown Portland and Mt. Hood.
Rather than treating the challenging topography as a limitation, the design uses it as the organizing idea for both homes. Each residence steps down the hillside in a series of stacked volumes, allowing the street-facing elevations to remain relatively modest while the downhill sides open dramatically to the landscape. Cantilevered decks extend beyond the primary structure, creating expansive outdoor rooms and reinforcing the homes’ relationship to the views.
The interiors are organized around open living, dining, and kitchen spaces with large areas of glazing and broad openings to adjacent terraces. This indoor-outdoor approach allows the main living spaces to feel continuous with the exterior and gives each level a strong connection to the surrounding landscape. Deep overhangs, layered massing, and carefully placed windows balance openness, shade, privacy, and orientation.
The project reflects Process’s approach to early site planning and conceptual design, helping owners understand what is possible, identifying constraints, and making informed decisions before moving into detailed design. Through massing studies, sectional analysis, and iterative exploration the team developed a creative design that embraces the hillside as a defining feature of the project.