With summer fast approaching, many of you will be dreaming of a summer vacation in a far-flung tropical climate — Negroni in hand, topping up your tan. But wouldn’t this be all the better, and all the simpler, if you could relax and soak up the sun from inside your lakeside cabin?
That’s right, we said inside. For the principle architectural feature of Olson Kundig’s Chicken Point Cabin is a huge window that literally opens onto the lake, completed thanks to a brief of turning the getaway into a “frame” for the surrounding natural beauty.
The design studio took this direction very literally and made a massive frame out for a swinging 30-foot by 20-foot window. As a result, when swung open, the lake not only instantly becomes a feature of the house, but essentially part of the house.
The garage-style window opens using a hand-cranked set of gears, requiring minimal effort from the user, so you can focus on relaxing — as you should.
“When you’re inside, you want to feel that the building would just be the frame or the background to your experience of the landscape...”
The aim of the cabin was to take nothing away from the surrounding beauty and to give those living there amazing access to the water. In the summer months, residents can access the cabin via boat with a jetty going straight from the cabin to the lake — ideal for a literal summer getaway.
The rest of the house is very minimalist in comparison, with no over-the-top decorations. But what more do you need when you have this spectacular view dominating the entire front of your house?
The master bedroom is a suspended wooden box design in the top corner of the concrete cabin — once more designed to give the best views over the lake. And who wouldn’t want to wake up to this view everyday?
Want another retreat to escape to? Check out this Tasmanian wilderness getaway…
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