Our client’s goal was deceptively simple: repurpose an existing 20-year-old builder-box “log cabin” to create a minimalist house that recedes into the landscape while focusing all spaces, interior and exterior, on the lake beyond.
Our solution was to remove all traces of the previous log-based design, survey and reuse all structure, add targeted new structure to create the large open plan, install bio-based insulation throughout that, assisted by high-performance windows, create the building’s tight envelope, acoustically isolate all interior enclosed spaces and use a minimal palette of no-maintenance exterior charcoal zinc cladding and interior plaster on walls that soar above maple floors. Interior wood details recede while adding warmth and texture. Carefully oriented sliding glass walls capture lake breezes and views.
The house is quiet, visually and experientially, and the owner’s relationship to the lake – always the primary focus of the project – is the central story.