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The
cabin extends into
its setting with oversized roof overhangs and a
450-square-foot wrap-
around deck that steps down towards the lake
beyond. Photo by Matthew Ackerman
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Lyrically named the Lily Pad Cabin,
this small gateway in the piney
woods of east Texas is intended to remind the owners of their days
spent camping on the site before commissioning their permanent
shelter. "The clients wanted a comfortable yet unpretentious
vacation
home with a very intimate interaction with the outdoors, similar to
what they had experienced sleeping in a tent," says Matthew Ackerman,
the architect hired to design the cabin, which sits on two acres of
land on the shores of Lake Horse Shoe Bend.
The cabin is just 1,050 square feet in size but its open floor plan and
the absence of full interior walls makes it appear more spacious.
The
clients were specific about what they wanted in their retreat: a round
house with 360-degree views, lots of interior windows hardwood floors;
a wrap-around deck to "blur the boundary between inside and out"; and a
wood burning fireplace. And there was another requirement: it had
to
be as inexpensive as possible.
Ackerman accentuated the cabin's rusticity by leaving the roof framing
members exposed to the interior and by using Western red cedar
throughout the building. The round shape was achieved with a
twelve-faceted wall system that created the opportunity for extensive
glazing to maximize the forest views. The undulating roof– the
inspiration for the Lily Pad moniker– relied on an innovative framing
technique that resulted in an up and down motion to the perimeter
bearing walls, which in turn brought "an organic rippling effect to the
exterior roofline that echoes the lily pads found along the edges of
the lake." the architect points out. |
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