A Cabin in the Woods
A sleeping cabin can be a place to rest, reflect and enjoy one's time surrounded by nature. In designing this cabin, it was important to maintain a balance of inside and outside to make the space cozy yet open. Trying to understand the site, without be able to visit, was a challenge, but my hope was to make windows a priority to connect the visitor with their surroundings. Positioning the cabin to be South facing should allow for some passive solar heating by the sun that is able to reach through the trees in to the space. The intention of the loft was to keep the space open, while offering some privacy to people staying in the cabin. This will also allow for circulation of air throughout the cabin to allow for better heating and cooling.
To cut costs, I am suggesting finding salvaged home renovation goods, such as windows, doors and potentially lumber on Kijiji, a website that caters to people doing renovations and an excellent resource for used goods. It has been my experience that windows and doors can come at almost half the price you might pay regularly. I've also incorporated a glass bottle window that can be made from recycled beer bottles to give a stained glass effect to the house. This window is placed in an area that is inaccessible and therefore does not need to be opened and closed. This window, will give the place some character and will speak to the necessity to produce less waste by reusing things we already have.
Using board and baton, as an exterior finish will maintain the character of the already existing buildings on site and will incorporate the building into the site, while the inside could be finished with cob to give a natural feel.
Having a comfortable place to stay can be blessing after a long days work of either physical or mental labour. Community Forests International and Whaelghinbran Farm do so much to access, inform and make aware the public of practices that can benefit our future environment and I hope that this can be a contribution to the journey.
(Competitor's text)
7 scanned / 6 viewable
- Site Plan
- Elevation
- Elevation
- Section
- Plan
- Sketch
