Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig
11/10/2017.
[Beaver - Washington] USA
metalocus, ÁNGEL BLANCO
metalocus, ÁNGEL BLANCO
This small home, or weekend retreat in a Washington National Park, designed by Seattle architect Tom Kundig, features an exterior of protective steel plates that slide in front of your windows and a raised floor on stilts to prevent the effects of possible floods.
Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig. Photograph © Benjamin Benschneider
Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig. Photograph © Benjamin Benschneider
Exterior view from inside. Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig. Photograph © Benjamin Benschneider
Interior view. Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig. Photograph © Benjamin Benschneider
Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig. Photograph © Benjamin Benschneider
Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig. Photograph © Benjamin Benschneider
Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig. Photograph © Benjamin Benschneider
Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig. Photograph © Benjamin Benschneider
Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig. Photograph © Benjamin Benschneider
Site plan. Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig.
Structural diagram. Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig.
Main floor. Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig.
Mezzanine floor. Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig.
Locking system. Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig.
Section. Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig.
Section. Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig.
Sol Duc Cabin project, by OK — Olson Kundig, was named as one of the ten recipients of the American Institute of Architects' 2014 Housing Awards. Completed in 2011, it provides a country retreat for a couple who take regular fishing expeditions in the Olympic National Park, Washington.
Description of project by OK — Olson Kundig
This 350-square-foot cabin is a small perch for its occupant. When you’re inside or on the deck, you are raised up above the landscape with an excellent view out onto the Sol Duc River. And the interior is like a warm, dry nest. It is located in one of the few temperate rainforests in the world, and “rainfor¬est” here means wet and rather cold, as opposed to wet and hot. Putting the cabin on stilts protects it from the clammy dampness and occasional flooding.
The owner is an avid steelhead fisherman, and the Sol Duc has some of the best steelhead fishing in Washington State. The design allows him and his wife to arrive at this remote location, open the place up, and get to fishing as quickly as possible. The shutters are operated man¬ually via custom steel rods. The large panels slide on hardware that was orig¬inally designed for sliding barn doors, attached to the steel roof beam structure.
That it seals up entirely when not in use is important partly because the loca¬tion is so remote—there is some potential for vandalism—and also because the elements can be punishing. Although the building is virtually indestructible: it’s made of unfinished, mild steel and structural insulated panels. The insides are mostly wood, for a sense of warmth.
The materials are a direct response to the surrounding wilderness. Most of the cabin was prefabricated off-site, which minimized construction wastage and site disruption. The loft floor is made from leftover two-by-fours belonging to the owner. We stacked and glued the pieces together, then threaded bolts through the stack to secure it.
More information
Architects
Olson Kundig. Lead Architects.- Tom Kundig (Design Principal), Edward Lalonde (Project Manager)
Collaborators
Structural Engineer.- MCE Consultants. Civil Engineer.- Zanovic and Associates
Area
350.0 ft²
Dates
Project Year.- 2011 Año de proyecto.- 2014
General Contractor
Schuchart/Dow
OLSON KUNDING ARCHITECTES
Olson Kundig Architects began its creative existence with architect Jim Olson, whose work in the late 1960s explored the relationship between dwellings and the landscape they inhabit in the Northwest. Olson started the firm based on some simple ideas: that buildings can serve as a bridge between nature, culture and people, and that inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people’s lives.
In 1996, Tom Kundig joined Olson as an owner, taking the firm to another level of creative exploration and helping it grow into an office with an international reputation. Alan Maskin and Kirsten Murray joined the owners group in 2008, continuing the evolution of the firm and furthering its commitment to the experience around architecture, articulated in exhibit design, interiors, and connections to urban and rural landscapes.
The firm now numbers over 90 employees. Olson Kundig Architects’ work, including museums, commercial design, academic buildings, exhibit design, interior design, places of worship and residences, often for art collectors, is now worldwide. The in-house interiors studio, founded in 2000, provides a full range of services including material selection, custom furniture design and purchasing capabilities. The interiors studio continues the long tradition of continuity between architecture and interiors. The office combines the capacity of a large firm with the intensity of a small one. The firm’s commitment to vigorous, critical design review sessions has infused its designers with a shared sense of commitment to every project.
Among the firm’s accolades are the 2009 National AIA Architecture Firm Award (as Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects), national and regional design awards from the American Institute of Architects, American Architecture Awards from the Chicago Athenaeum, Jim Olson’s 2007 Seattle Medal of Honor and Tom Kundig’s National Design Award from the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt and his Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The owners lecture extensively on design, regularly serve as university studio critics, and are board members for civic institutions and jury awards programs. The firm’s award-winning work has been widely exhibited in North America, has been published extensively, including in The New York Times, Architectural Digest and Architectural Record, and has been featured numerous times on the covers of books and magazines.
Books on the firm’s work include Tom Kundig: Houses 2 (Princeton Architectural Press, 2011); Jim Olson Houses (The Monacelli Press, 2009); Tom Kundig: Houses (Princeton Architectural Press, 2006); Art + Architecture: The Ebsworth Collection + Residence (William Stout Publishers, 2006); The Frye Art Museum: Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects (Documentary Media, 2007); and a monograph of the firm’s work, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects: Architecture, Art and Craft (The Monacelli Press, 2003).
