Distilling the components of the classic backwoods cabin down to a wood stove and a stack of firewood, Hearth hybridizes conventionally disjunct elements into a seamless occupiable space -- a domestic chimney. Contrasting the vertical timbers of the farm's wooded landscape, the building takes form as a horizontal layering of wood members, from the slatted rainscreen facade to the logs it stows. Stocked with logs that double as both fuel and ornament, the cabin is readily equipped for cold nights. A warm sanctuary in the wooded landscape, Hearth offers an intimate fireside seating area and lodging for two visitors.
Constructed almost entirely of wood, Hearth is designed for easy assembly using lightweight materials. Taking advantage of the farm's existing materials, the cabin's foundation is made from tires (found on site) and rammed earth. Hearth utilizes an open-joint rainscreen system which forms a seamless envelope encasing walls, roof, and chimney. Layering a set of horizontal slats over a simple timber frame, Hearth has the capacity to store hundreds of quartered logs which can be easily dislodged and used for firewood.
Occupying an area of only 150 square feet, Hearth's interior spaces are arranged vertically to maintain a minimal footprint in the forest. The main level consists of a linear porch that slides into the envelope of the firewood façade as one approaches along the hiking trail. Inside, one finds an intimately scaled space for sitting and conversing around the wood burning stove, the heart of Hearth. A full-story window provides views through the façade screen to the South. Two beds are lofted above, creating a distinct space for sleeping and giving one the feeling of climbing to the forest canopy for their slumber.
Set seamlessly into the Canadian woodlands, Hearth both celebrates the surrounding timber and feeds off of it.
(Competitor's text)
From the Judges:
"The Hearth entry is one of the most compellingly poetic and inspired entries submitted. It has a powerful, grounded shape, and a materiality that connects it to the forest in a most arresting manner. But it is the inspired idea of having the entire exterior of the cabin clad in horizontal wood planks for storing firewood that gives this form its subtle and somewhat subversive appeal. On the one hand this is a very practical design; on the other, it is a slightly surreal idea - one that would more likely be found in a deepest forest-air induced dream than in reality."
Craig Applegath, Architect, PPOAA, AAA, Architect AIBC, NSAA, FRAIC, LEED® AP
"I think the horizontal slats are really beautiful, even though they would probably trap moisture and rot in our climate. I just like the idea of people and wildlife being able to climb all over it!"
Zach Melanson, CFI Communications Director
(From jury report)
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