Wonderful Cabin Into The Woodsin in Washington
When I first looked at this picture I thought that this a remote area in Sweden or Norway not a wonderful cabin in the state of Washington. It has 1,000 square meters and it was designed by Olson Kunding Architects. This structure is basically a steel-clad box on stilts that can be completely sealed of when nobody lives there for a longer period of time. The main idea was to create a compact space, easy to maintain, a house where nature lovers can have fun adventuring in the mountains.
This retreat is structured on three levels: the lowest level is mainly used for storage, the middle level contain the entry, two small bedrooms and bathrooms. The upper level offers a living area, dinning and cooking spaces as well. There are some steel decks extending from the middle and upper level to create an outdoor space destined mainly for entertaining. Because I was talking just a few moments ago about the ability of completely closing all shutters I have to mention that this is possible by a serious mechanical system.
Starting with a hand wheel and continuing through drive shafts, u-joints, spur gears and cables. All windows are operable and with this mechanism huge metal shutters cover every inch of glazed surface. Of course none of the structure major components was crafted on the site, thereby the on-site waste and site disruption was reduced to minimum. I like the idea, it’s a nice retreat with an ingenious protective system and wonderful surroundings.{found on archdaily and pics by Tim Bies, Benjamin Benschneider}.