Loyal Captain / Heliotrope Architects

Architects: Heliotrope Architects
Area: 500 ft²
Photographs: Kevin Scott
Contractor: Dovetail General Contractors
Landscape Architect: Ironwood Tree
Lighting Design: Light Plan
City: Seattle
Country: United States

Loyal Captain, designed by Heliotrope Architects, updates the historic 1933 residence of Captain Ole E. Nelson in Bergen, Norway, with a contemporary kitchen addition. Built to complement the original Scandinavian-style craftsmanship, the post-and-beam design maintains the house’s historic character while introducing a distinct yet harmonious modern structure. The project reflects the high-quality standards of the original home and enriches its legacy as an architectural landmark.

The Loyal Captain is a newly added kitchen extension and landscape enhancement to a historic landmark residence, originally built in 1933 by shipcaptain Ole E. Nelson as a replica of his childhood home in Bergen, Norway.

The house was built with exceptional craftsmanship, adhering to Scandinavian vernacular building traditions, and has been preserved in outstanding condition. Heliotrope Architects were engaged by the homeowners—a young family with refined taste—to design a kitchen addition to replace the original, which was too small.

The new design is a modern post-and-beam structure that harmonizes with the original house while allowing both to retain their unique identities in relation to each other and the surrounding landscape. The addition’s high-quality finish, meticulous detailing, and craftsmanship reflect the exceptional standards of the original house, aiming to contribute a fresh chapter to the history of this remarkable structure.

We come from a region with a strong history of mid-century modern post-and-beam construction, so the detailing of our Suncrest and Loyal Captain projects is particularly meaningful to us.
Interview with Joe Herrin and Mike Mora of Heliotrope