A Green Exterior Helps This Cabin Blend Into the Forest

Scalar Architecture has completed a modern cabin in Connecticut designed to have a minimal ecological footprint. Its green exterior of standing seam metal helps the 1,200 sq ft retreat blend into the forest around it.

A retreat reached on foot

The cabin was built for a family of writers and producers, and it can only be reached on foot or by light utility vehicle. The site is hilly and wooded, with large rocks and little topsoil.

To keep its impact low, the architects designed a compact building with stepped living and dining areas, two bedrooms, a loft and a porch facing southeast. Openings in the form help the cabin fit the terrain and let light pass through to the interior.

Wood, metal and rainwater

The cabin is mostly built of wood, wrapped in standing seam metal siding and roofing. The roof is designed to collect rainwater. The design also responds to the path of the sun, winter winds and summer breezes, and the covered porch extends the living space outdoors.

Stepped living spaces

Inside, the social areas share one space, with the living room facing the windows. The dining area sits on a different level, furnished with a wood table and black chairs, and separates the kitchen from the living room.

The kitchen runs along the wall behind the dining area, and a ladder leads up to the loft.

Bedrooms and bathroom

Both bedrooms are lined with wood and have a vertical window looking out to the trees. In the bathroom, blue tiles cover the walls and grey tiles the floor, with black accents for contrast.

Building lightly on a forest site

As a general approach, a compact footprint, a roof that harvests water and a layout tuned to sun and wind are simple ways to make a small cabin comfortable while disturbing as little of the site as possible.

Project credits

• Project: forest cabin, Connecticut, USA
• Architecture: Scalar Architecture (Julio Salcedo, principal in charge; Tomás Rodríguez, Elda Hernández, Sharon Mendoza, Raúl Tenoira)
• Interior design: Paul Feldsher
• Contractor: Bill Haley
• Structural: Zen Rill
• Windows: Andersen
• Photography: Imagen Subliminal (Miguel de Guzman + Rocio Romero)
• Source: Contemporist