|
 |
"
Luxury Home "
|
Bill
Gates Home
Front
View
Wide
View
Top
View
Features
1.No visible electrical outlets
anywhere.
2.112 steps from the main floor to the main entry.
3.Wood columns from
main floor to roof in entry area are
over
70 feet
long.
4.All timbers used inside and out are finished the same - 3
inches have
been removed from the exterior of the wood and then sanded to
a satin
finish and there are virtually no knots.
5.All bolts throughout the house are stainless steel and
oriented the
same direction.
6.All woodwork is flawless. Much of the woodwork is of
various rare
species from all over the world.
7.Some of the luxury interior passage doors weigh over 800
lbs, but
are
balanced for easy use
8.Acoustics are a concern throughout. Various woods and
fabrics are
used. Acoustic panels in the Ballroom move out of sight on
their own.
9.Roofing is stainless steel.
10.Floor is heated everywhere including the driveway and walks.
11.Four car garage. House for the maintenance staff has its own 3-car
garage. Nanny parks in the 6-car carport across from the main
entry. An
additional 10-cars can be parked in a subterranean arched
concrete
building which through an electronic transformation becomes a
basketball court.
12.Many doors are blended
so well with the walls that it is hard to see
them, Great interior design & decoration
13.Theater (underground in a concrete shell) is the most state of the
art theater in the world according to specialty contractor.
14.Entry gate senses when your car approaches and opens fully by the
time you arrive.
15.Master bathtub can be filled to the right temperature and depth by
Gates as he drives home from work.
Electronics
Miles
of communication cable, largely fiber optic, run throughout the house,
linking computer servers powered by the Windows NT operating system. In
each room, touch-sensitive pads control lighting, music, and climate.
Visitors will wear small electronic pins, which will let the computers
know who and where they are. Lights and other settings will adjust
automatically. Floors throughout the house (and the driveway) are heated.
Family
wing
The Gates family's 11,500-square-foot inner sanctum is surprisingly
modest, with four bedrooms and quarters for a nanny. A four-car garage
is attached. The lower levels include a techno-playland
family room and
an exercise facility that is better appointed than many health clubs.
Guest
wing
The southern half of the main building, this wing contains the main
entrance (with grand staircase), theater, library, formal dining room,
reception hall, and conference facilities. It includes only two
bedrooms.
Basic
data
Waterfront: Approximately 500 feet
Square footage, all structures: More than 66,000 (equal to
1.5 acres)
Rooms: Seven bedrooms, 24 bathrooms (includes 10 full
baths), six
kitchens, six fireplaces
Style: Pacific Northwest lodge
Architects: James Cutler and Peter Bohlin
Interior designer: Thierry W. Despont
Primary contractor: Sellen Construction
Foundation
The
hillside is in an earthquake zone, so the foundation sits on concrete
piers and uses tiebacks and steel reinforcements several times stronger
than the minimums set by the building code. Massive retaining walls,
several feet thick in places, created a drainage problem, solved by
collecting runoff in buried pipes that feed into the estuary.
Frame
Primarily
timber frame. Half a million board feet of lumber was used. Support
beams were salvaged from a Weyerhaeuser mill on the Columbia River,
refinished, and sanded to a satin glow. The timbers are joined with
stainless-steel fittings, which have been flame-bronzed and anodized,
for a rustic look. All connecting bolts (also stainless steel) point in
the same direction.
Over
the past decade, Bill
Gates has quietly
bought up
11 properties, including nine houses, that surround his
5-acre Medina
estate, creating a buffer zone that is increasingly turning a small
hillside neighborhood into a private holding of the richest man on
earth.
Founder
of Microsoft is smart businessman even in Housing
&
Properties.
|
