Concealed with the aid of dense woodland, this cabin is precise as its creator intended; an off-grid retreat designed for respite and peace of mind. Suspended on a minimalistic basis of concrete piers, the shape sits atop a high bank overlooking a lake. Its compact dimensions and cedar shingle-clad exterior emphasize its camouflage within the instantaneous surroundings.
The cabin sits on the Ohio family farm of architect Greg Dutton, who designed the structure and built it with his father and brother Chris. His firm, Midland Architecture, has recently grown in size and reputation with offices in Columbus and Pittsburgh – significantly snagging an IFRAA award within the process – but the Appalachian vernacular of his upbringing is an ever-present influence in his designs. Specifically, the cabin is his 1/3 task at the farm, the land a part of a former strip mine slowly reclaimed by using grassland and wooded area. The latter turned into a decisive issue inside the architect’s empathetic method of encompassing land; this was blanketed using recycled rainwater and solar energy to preserve its occupants.
Inside, pared-again interiors display the architect’s mantra of simplicity and capability, with a stated Nordic aesthetic: bleached Eastern Pine floors and walls clad in white painted lap paneling display civility without straying some distance from the cabin’s herbal surroundings. Opening the door into the open-plan dwelling space-cum-bedroom, well-known shows a hovering deciduous panorama, courtesy of ground-to-ceiling windows; in the meantime, a timber burner in the center of the room acts as a well-located accent.
At six hundred sq.Toes, the area is at a premium, a reality that spearheaded a host of information, including custom-designed cabinets and countertops that maximize kitchen space, while the toilet doubles as a wet room. ‘The architecture I love is about craft and attention to detail,’ Dutton says. ‘When you marry that technique to a lovely website online, magic can show up. That became the intention from the start of the challenge.’
