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Lopez Island Cabin
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Completion Date: March 2007
Located on 30 acres of wooded waterfront property on Lopez Island, WA, this 1,300-square-foot vacation home sits at the northern edge of a meadow on a high bluff overlooking Puget Sound. Native fir, cedar, and madrona trees encircle the meadow of indigenous grasses and plants, creating a natural privacy screen surrounding the home. The house respects this serene landscape with its minimal size, thoughtful design and conscientious use of materials.
Design concept and solution: The approach to the house is down a simple stone path from the east. A sloping roof plane—as though emerging from the earth—rises unbroken between two small rectangular volumes. This tilted plane covers the contiguous living, dining, kitchen and service areas. The two adjoining rectangles each contain a modest sleeping room. At the western edge of the house, a 14-foot-tall glass wall terminates the main living space, promoting uninterrupted views of the water and mountains. Beyond the glass wall, the roof cantilevers over a terrace, evoking a sense of protection and blurring the distinction between interior and exterior. Countering the lightness of the roof structure, two thick masonry walls run the length of the home and ground it into the earth.
Materials and construction methods were chosen for simplicity, low maintenance, and energy conservation. Site disturbance was strictly localized, allowing for only minor construction grading that followed the natural contours of the site. Slab-on-grade construction was used for the interior flooring and adjacent terraces, simplifying construction and minimizing the use of raw materials. Corrugated metal siding and locally sourced ground face concrete block—used in the interior spaces as well as the exterior—were chosen for their durability and economy. The concrete block walls and floor also serve as a thermal mass, regulating the interior temperature by storing daytime heat and releasing it at night. Above the block walls, three sides of clerestory windows combine with floor to ceiling glazing throughout the home to bathe the interior spaces with daylight, reducing energy costs associated with artificial lighting. Birch veneer plywood panels the ceiling, accentuating the lightness of the roof plane as it soars above the spaces, yet are also nearly maintenance free.
Total construction cost: Undisclosed
Architect:
Stuart Silk Architects
2400 N. 45th St., Suite 200
Seattle, WA 98103
P: 206.728.9500
F: 206.448.1337
www.stuartsilk.com
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