Octothorpe House / Mork-Ulnes Architects

Octothorpe House sits atop a plot blanketed with sagebrush, bitterbrush, and junipers, the site of a forest lost to wildfire two decades ago. Ponderosa pine forests can be seen in the distance as the high desert arid land transitions into lusher vegetation. We are in Bend, a small city (257 kilometers southeast of Portland, Oregon. A popular spot for outdoor enthusiasts, it is located within easy reach of the trails, the Deschutes River and Mirror Pond, the nearby Cascade Lakes, and the ski slopes of the Mount Bachelor ski resort and of the Cascade Mountains. The lot has sweeping views of the Three Sisters mountains' snow-capped peaks and the Deschutes River National Forest.