Steel & Glass Pavilion

A Modern Backyard Pavilion Built for All Seasons

This sleek outdoor escape appears light and airy, but its design DNA is all concrete, hi-tech glass, and steel.

BY CLAIRE BUTWINICK MAY 23, 2019

Heavy steel and thick concrete aren’t the first materials you’d think to find in an airy residential pavilion, but the designers at Drake’s 7 Dees took this scheme, found throughout a modern house in Vancouver, Washington, and created a bright, canopied backyard oasis meant to withstand the wet, dreary winters of the Pacific Northwest.

Inspired by the residence’s polished concrete floors, white walls, and sprawling glass windows, Christopher Dara, a former designer at Drake’s 7 Dees, designed the pavilion as a visual connection to the house, while also giving the homeowners a refined and open environment for outdoor entertaining.

“We thought that it should serve as an additional room for the house,” Dara says, “[so] we extrapolated the materials of the house, but we wanted it to be light, not heavy.”

The pavilion is a temptingly breezy and light-filled place to gather in the summer, but it was designed to be enjoyed all year round. To ensure durability, Dara teamed up with geoengineers from SFA Design Group to install weather-resistant frosted 3form glass ceiling panels. These hi-tech panels are typically used in southern climates but SFA Design Group was able to recalculate their design to withstand northern winds and snow while still letting in natural light from above. The team also put the roof on a slight slope to help drain rain and snow away from the home.

Supporting the 3form glass ceiling, and upholding the pavilion’s structure, are slender white powder-coated steel panels. Dara says that he worked with the geoengineers to custom design the panels to be as thin as possible with strategic gaps to let in natural light and valley winds. The clean lines in this design add sophistication to the structure without overshadowing the surrounding natural landscape.

“We ended up going with metal for its aesthetic,” he says. “We wanted it to feel light and airy, and we were able to achieve that through steel. If we used wood we would have a lot more posts and you would be able to see the grain. Steel is sleek and it lends its self to the modern home.”

Whether the homeowners are basking in the summer light beaming from the glass canopy or curling up next to the glass fireplace in the winter, Dara says that this space softens the transition from the sleek modern home to the surrounding backyard.

Publications

Feature editorial by GRAY magazine. A Modern Backyard Pavilion Built for All Seasons. This sleek outdoor escape appears light and airy, but its design DNA is all concrete, hi-tech glass, and steel.

BY CLAIRE BUTWINICK MAY 23, 2019

Awards

Oregon Home Magazine Structure + Style 2018: DESIGN WINNER

Oregon Home Magazine Structure + Style 2018: BUILD WINNER

Style

International Modern

Materials

Hollow structure steel
Concrete
3form

A lifelong Oregon resident, Drake has been passionate about plants since childhood, beginning with propagating and growing flowers at his grandfather’s nursery. He opened Drake’s 7 Dees in 1974, while earning degrees in Business and Horticulture from Oregon State University. He later expanded into the design/build side of the industry, allowing him to combine his passion for plants with his love of family by maximizing the quality of family time spent outdoors.

Drake is co-founder of the Oregon Landscape Contractors Association and is a Landscape Industry Certified Manager (LICM)—a designation that less than two percent of landscapers have attained. Additionally, Drake serves on the Board of Directors for the Portland Japanese Gardens, widely regarded as one of the seven best Japanese gardens outside of Japan.

Drake is married to former Oregon Speaker of the House, Lynn Snodgrass. Together, he and Lynn received the Farm Bureau President’s award in 1999 for their service and dedication to agriculture in the state of Oregon. Drake and Lynn have two wonderful daughters, two talented son-in-laws, and seven grandchildren. In his spare time, Drake enjoys camping, water and snow skiing, reading, and of course, gardening.

Born and raised in the Portland Metro Area… Tim has had an appreciation for the outdoors from a young age.  Inspired by our local beauty ranging: the Mt Hood National Forest to salty, sea spray of Cannon Beach, the arid high-desert of Central Oregon to the rugged terrain of Steens Mountain – Tim sought higher education at the University of Idaho in their Landscape Architecture department.  Graduating with honors in 2004, he returned home to establish his professional career.

Now making his home in Sandy, Oregon – Tim and his wife [Nicole] are raising two happy and healthy kiddos and 4 fur-babies.  Between soccer, football, cheerleading, girl scouts and other extra-curricular activities… the Sellin family are heavily involved in their community and church family.  Since college, Tim has spent 13 of his 17 years with Drake’s 7 Dees and has ‘set roots’ in anticipation of long-term growth at the family-focused company.  Having spent his time away from Drake’s in a ‘boots on the ground’ capacity, Tim has fostered a love for the operational/production side of landscape business, as well as the design/sales.

His goal in life as well as business is to put others first.

Bachelor of Science Landscape Architecture, BSLA… 2009
California Polytechnic University, Pomona… Cum Laude
American Society of Landscape Architects – Honor Award

Steven has 15 years of experience in the residential landscape design/build and garden center industry, including 9 years with Drake’s 7 Dees. Steven also has experience working with the National Park Service in Yosemite on sub-alpine restoration projects, as well as volunteer experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer serving the community of Zaouiat d’Ifrane in Morocco.

Together, Steven and his wife Anna have four lovely children, all 5 years old and under! In his (very limited) spare time, Steven enjoys camping, hiking, archery hunting, and cooking. Steven’s passion for his work lies in helping others, through design to envision a more beautiful space that, once built, becomes a reality that improves their quality of life.