Tuesday 23 March 2010

PART A :: ARCHETYPE RESEARCH - International Exemplar - Chicken Point Cabin

The only concrete direction given to architect Tom Kundig was to make the house as open to the lake as possible. He responded literally, with his design encompassing a large pivoting "picture" window that physically opens up the cabin to he landscape and lakeside.

The outcome is a lakeside cabin that is user-friendly all year round, which takes full advantage of views and passive design considerations.

The entry sequence is highly choreographed and has a dramatic effect, stepping from the entry passage visitors are thrust into the main living space.

The front door is unusually tall, a deliberate decision to make it proportional to surrounding trees.

The "gizmo" mechanism that tilts the vast glass wall is unique in that it can be operated with only minimal exertion. Meaning that a child can open the six ton steel window, a feat in itself, but also a consideration to accomodate the owners. Kundig (2010) remarks, "it's primal, to make something that makes you stop and think, even momentarily about how something moves or changes direction, it connects us intimately to the natural forces in our world".

Olson Kundig Architects. (2010). Chicken Point Cabin. Photos by Benjamin Benschneider. Retrieved 5 March, 2010, from http://www.olsonkundigarchitects.com/Projects/101/Chicken-Point-Cabin.
Kundig, T. (Speaker)(2010). Spotlight on Design: Tom Kundig (streaming video recording). Retrieved March 5, 2010, from http://vimeo.com/9814966.

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