Set along the steep canyon slopes of the Brentwood Hills, this project explores the relationship between landscape preservation, structural clarity, and fire-resilient design. Conceived as an extension of the existing residence, the new deck structure transforms the edge of the hillside into a series of outdoor rooms organized around the site’s most significant feature-an 80-year-old Western Live Oak.

Rather than treating the tree as an obstacle, the design places it at the center of the architectural composition. The deck bends and extends around the oak’s canopy and root zone, preserving the mature tree while framing expansive views across the canyon.

The structure itself is expressed as a precise assembly of heavy timber members connected through custom steel knife plates designed specifically for the project. Every structural joint is separated and detailed through these concealed steel connections, allowing the timber frame to read as continuous elements while meeting the fire-resistance demands of a high fire severity zone.

Anchoring the structure to the hillside required an equally rigorous approach to construction. Because of the extreme slope, each foundation pier was excavated entirely by hand- some extending nearly twenty feet into the earth- to securely root the structure within the terrain.

The resulting architecture is both landscape intervention and structural study: a timber frame that projects lightly over the canyon while preserving the tree that defines the site.