Location - Mill Run, Pennsylvania, USA

Our Proposal is about receding into the edge condition or ecotone between forest and field. Six cabins are set in the shady south forest edge facing the long west view down the field – akin to – but opposite the community Kirkpatrick House. Each cabin walks into the oak-hickory forest, capitalizing on its’ cooler environs of evapotranspiration and shade in lieu of additive architectural devices like overhangs and shade louvers, all the while elevating one above the field ridgeline in order to slowly reveal the Grandview of the Allegheny Mountains. Solid timber milled from a non-native monoculture of Norwegian Spruce on site provides a single-stroke solution for structure, exterior and interior finish, and a thermal envelope that controls room temperature and regulates humidity. It also acts as a long-term carbon store with the smallest footprint. The slow meander across the field is central to our concept of authentic experience of place.

2nd Place – Limited Invited International Design Competition