Stories
Stories From the Neighborhoods We Love
Local culture, architecture & everyday life in the places that shape our work, from a Saturday at the market to the details in a stair run.
The Library
All Stories & Articles
Everything we publish, project updates, neighborhood insight, policy explainers, and notes for buyers and landowners. Newest first, and new articles appear here automatically.
- What Can Be Built on a Seattle LotZoning sets a ceiling on every Seattle lot. Pipes, trees and the street out front decide how close a lot gets to it. A site we walked away from, and what it means on your block.
- Building a DADU in Seattle: What It Costs, What It Earns, and When Not to Build OneA backyard cottage can be a great move or an expensive detour. What a Seattle DADU really costs, what it earns, the family cases where it shines, and the question to answer before you spend a dollar: is it even the highest use of your lot?
- How Many Units Can I Build on My Lot in Seattle?The honest answer is “it depends”, but on exactly seven factors. Here’s how Washington’s middle housing law changed the math for Seattle lots, and how to get a real answer for yours.
- Now Selling: The Henrie on 19th AvenueSales are now open at The Henrie, our townhome community on 19th Avenue in Capitol Hill.
- The Six Things in Every Olsen Anderson HomeThe six features we build into every Olsen Anderson home, and the reason each one is there.
- Boats Don’t Forgive ShortcutsWhat Seattle’s working waterfront taught us about doing the job right the first time.
- How to Buy a Home in Seattle With Your RSUsA practical guide to putting RSUs toward a Seattle home: timing, taxes, and what lenders look for.
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Four Ways In
Community Stories
Life inside OA communities, how the homes get used, what the block feels like a year in.
Start With Our StoryNeighborhood Guides
Our homework, published, the streets, coffee, parks & rhythms of the neighborhoods we build in.
Read the GuidesDesign & Architecture
The decisions behind the work, proportion, light, materials & why a window lands where it does.
The OA StandardProject Updates
What’s under construction, what’s opening & what’s next across our communities.
The Henrie UpdateIt’s paying attention to what works. Making decisions with care. Following them all the way through.