An Off-the-Grid Cabin in Vancouver, Candlelight Included - Remodelista
When snowboarders Susan Scott and David Scott of Scott & Scott Architects set out to build themselves an off-the-grid alpine cabin, they let the free spirit of their sport be their design guide. Photography courtesy of Scott & Scott Architects via ArchDaily. The two-story cabin is located in an alpine recreation area that is 4,200 feet above sea level with a heavy annual snowfall. In order to elevate the structure above the height of the snow, the architects used six columns of Douglas fir tree trunks that they exposed inside the cabin. The minimalist interior is clad in planed fir. The cabin is 1,000 square feet and off the grid: it’s heated by a wood-burning stove and lit by candles; water is collected and brought in from a local source. Above L: Candles set in blackened steel that runs the length of the living room provide lighting at night. A Hudson’s Bay blanket supplies year-round warmth in one of the two bedrooms. The cabin is accessible by gravel road for only five months of the year. A corner of the ground floor has been carved out to become a porch for storing firewood and snowboarding equipment. The cabin was built to withstand not just snow but strong wind. The sustainable cabin just received an Architizer A+ 2014 award in the Architecture +Self Initiated Projects category. The plan of the entry level. Another cabin built for and by architects, Slow House: A Serene Cabin in the Woods, has stirred serious cabin envy in Melbourne. For warm-weather inspiration, see 10 Summer Cabins from Members of the Remodelista Architect and Designer Directory.