Hasta La Ideas

This weekend cabin in a Washington national park, by Seattle architect Tom Kundig, features a protective steel exterior that slides across its windows and a floor raised up on stilts to prevent flooding.

Sol Duc Cabin was named as one of the ten recipients of the American Institute of Architects‘ 2014 Housing Awards earlier this week. Completed in 2011, it provides a rural retreat for a couple who take regular fishing expeditions in the Olympic National Park.

Kundig, principal designer at Olson Kundig Architects, was asked by the clients to create a “virtually indestructible” residence that could be left uninhabited for weeks at a time. It needed to be both secure and protected from the occasional flooding of a nearby river.

He responded by creating a 30-square-metre cabin clad externally with unfinished steel and raised up on four steel columns, similar to the Delta Shelter he completed in 2005.

“The cabin’s rugged patina and raw materiality respond to the surrounding wilderness while its verticality provides a safe haven during occasional floods from the nearby river,” said the architect.

Windows can be secured behind steel shutters that blend into the walls. Residents open them using a mechanical system of gears, drive shafts and U-joints, which are set into motion by turning a wheel.

“Sol Duc Cabin opens to the environment through human power,” said the architect.

The main space inside the cabin is taken up by a double-height living and dining area with a compact kitchen along one edge. A small washroom is tucked away at the back, while a ladder leads up to a mezzanine loft that functions as a sleeping area.

Walls, floors and ceilings are lined with timber panels. There is also a balcony with a see-through mesh floor, which faces out towards the river.

An overhanging roof provides some shelter over the balcony and shades the windows from the harsh sunlight.

The entire building was prefabricated and then assembled on site, reducing its impact on the rural landscape.

Photography is by Benjamin Benschneider.

Here’s some more information from Olson Kundig Architects:

Sol Duc Cabin

Providing secure shelter for every season, this steel-clad 350 sf cabin on stilts can be completely shuttered when the owner is away. The cabin’s rugged patina and raw materiality respond to the surrounding wilderness while its verticality provides a safe haven during occasional floods from the nearby river.

The overall design responds to the owner’s desire for a compact, low-cost, low-maintenance, virtually indestructible building to house himself and his wife during fishing expeditions. Composed of two levels, the cabin’s entry, dining and kitchen areas are located on the lower floor while a sleeping loft with minimal shelving hovers above. A cantilevered steel deck extends from the lower level, providing unimpeded views of the river.

Constructed primarily of unfinished, mild steel and structural insulated panels (SIPs), the cabin is supported by four steel columns and sits lightly on the site. Most of the structure — the steel frame and panels, the roof, shutters, and stairs — was prefabricated off-site, thereby reducing onsite waste and site disruption. Prefabrication kept typical construction wastage to a minimum.

With a cantilevered roof that provides solar shading and protection from the elements, Sol Duc Cabin opens to the environment through human power. Each of the building’s shutters can be opened and closed with hand wheels that move the shutters over the glazed portions of each facade. The shutters are operated by a series of mechanical devices including a hand wheel, drive shafts, u-joints, spur gears and cables.

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steel cabin on stilts appeared first on Dezeen.

Seattle studio Olson Kundig Architects has produced visualisations imagining the fictional scenes before and after a freight train carrying toxic chemicals haphazardly plunged into a lake where artist Jack Daws was building a house on stilts (+ slideshow).

As part of a project entitled The House That Jack Built, Olson Kundig‘s images accompany an account written by Jack Daws of an imaginary series of events whereby the artist tried to build an enticing retreat, but ended up with a refuge in a perilous environment.

The story tells of how Daws had become disillusioned by architects’ invasion of the art world and reacted by trying his hand at architecture.

Inspired by the houses of Seattle architect Tom Kundig, the artist planned a cabin at the centre of Walden Pond, Massachusetts, and built it on 24-metre stilts using tiles and rails pilfered from a local railway. This action destabilised the railway and led to the crash of the train.

Images and a model of the building are on show in the Mercer Gallery of Walden 3 in Seattle, presented as if the events genuinely took place.

“The installation is meant to be a starting point for self-reflection and a critical inquiry into contemporary society, engaging such topics as reincarnation, artistic attribution, admiration, false identity, thievery, tribute, injury and environmental degradation to ruin,” reads the exhibition text.

The fictional tale also extends to the exhibition opening, where architect Kundig is reported to have taken a punch at Daws over the attempt to rip off his style. This scene is also visualised in a rendering.

The House That Jack Built is the first project by Olson Kundig Outpost, the firm’s new visualisation studio, and forms part of the Itinerant Projects series of collaborations between the architects and various site-specific artists.

Here’s more information from Jack Daws and Olson Kundig Architects:

The House That Jack Built

Conceptual artist Jack Daws, in conjunction with Olson Kundig Outpost, present a new work entitled The House that Jack Built. The work will be featured at the Mercer Gallery at Walden Three from January 17 through March 16, 2014.

The House that Jack Built is based upon The Pond (a somewhat mystical account of my foray into architecture), Daws’ firsthand account of his efforts to build a cabin in the middle of Walden Pond only to have a freight train loaded with toxic chemicals plunge into its waters. The installation includes Daws’ story, a large-scale model of the cabin, and accompanying images depicting the pond before and after the environmental disaster. The installation is meant to be a starting point for self-reflection and a critical inquiry into contemporary society, engaging such topics as reincarnation, artistic attribution, admiration, false identity, thievery, tribute, injury and environmental degradation to ruin.

For Daws, and ultimately the subject of this exhibition, trouble began when he acted upon his growing irritation at architects for steadily eroding the boundaries of art and for taking art commissions he believes should be reserved for artists. His defiance led him to try his hand at architecture, and designing and building his own cabin – taking inspiration from the work of noted Seattle architect, Tom Kundig. Daws positioned his cabin, made from pilfered railroad ties and rails from a nearby railway, atop 80-foot steel rails in the middle of Walden Pond. Tragically, his theft of the rails led to the devastation of Walden Pond. In the post-accident image included in the exhibition, the wreckage of a freight train carrying toxic waste is shown spilling its contents into the idyllic setting.

Known to bend rules, Daws has made his mark challenging authority and tackling complex social issues. With The House that Jack Built, Daws threatens to challenge the boundaries of what an artist should be doing, and the territory they have no business meddling in. “I don’t care what my detractors think,” said Daws. “La historia me absolverá.” Greg Lundgren, executive director of Walden 3 adds, “Walden 3 prides itself on encouraging the artists it presents to take risks and challenge conventional wisdom. We do not censor their work or discourage their passions. But Jack took us to the absolute end on this one.”

Two new ventures for Olson Kundig Architects have supported this installation: Itinerant Projects is the firm’s new installation program which will locate four migratory collaborations in site-specific installations across the globe; and Olson Kundig Outpost, a new creative production studio that supported Mr. Daws with photography and visual effects.

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a house on stilts above a polluted lake appeared first on Dezeen.

Seattle firm Olson Kundig Architects used dynamite, chippers and saws to bore through the huge boulders of a rocky outcrop on a North American island to make room for this raw concrete house (+ slideshow).

Named after the French word for stone, the Pierre is a single-storey residence designed to cut into the protruding bedrock of the client’s existing property, located on one of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Seattle.

“Putting the house in the rock follows a tradition of building on the least productive part of a site, leaving the best parts free for cultivation,” said Tom Kundig, a director at Olson Kundig Architects and the lead architect on the project.

The house is slotted between two sections of rock. Its walls are made from exposed concrete, with a smooth surface that opposes the rough stone, while the roof is covered with grassy plants to allow the building to merge into the landscape.

Traces of the stone continue through the house’s interior, where a cave-like bathroom tunnels through one of the boulders and features a mirror that hangs down from a hole in the ceiling.

A large living and dining room spans the length of the building and features a fireplace hearth comprising a carved rock with a levelled surface.

The master bedroom sits off to one side and includes a sink with a basin made from another huge lump of stone, where polished sections allow water to cascade down three separate pools.

All rooms of the house are furnished with a selection of antique pieces, artworks and custom-designed lighting fixtures.

Leftover rock from the site excavation was turned into crushed aggregate for use during the construction.

The Pierre was completed in 2010 but was named as one of 26 winners of the American Institute of Architects’ Institute Honor Awards earlier this week.

Photography is by Benjamin Benschneider, unless otherwise stated.

Here’s a project description from Olson Kundig Architects:

 The Pierre

The owner’s affection for a stone outcropping on her property inspired the design of this house. Conceived as a retreat nestled into the rock, the Pierre (the French word for stone) celebrates the materiality of the site. From certain angles, the house – with its rough materials, encompassing stone, green roof, and surrounding foliage – almost disappears into nature.

To set the house deep into the site, portions of the rock outcropping were excavated through a combination of machine work and handwork. The contractor used large drills to set the outline of the building, then used dynamite, hydraulic chippers, and wire saws and other hand tools, working with finer and finer implements as construction progressed. Excavated rock was reused as crushed aggregate in the on all the stonework, a reminder of the building process, while huge pieces of rock were employed for the carport structure.

With the exception of a separate guest suite, the house functions on one main level, with an open-plan kitchen, dining, and living space. A wood-clad storage box (made with siding reclaimed from a Lionel Pries-designed house) transitions from outside to inside. Its two large bookcases open to provide concealed access to laundry and kitchen storage. A large pivoting steel and glass door provides access to a terrace.

Set at a right angle to the main space, a master suite features a custom-designed bed with a leather headboard and footboard set in the middle of floor-to ceiling bookshelves.

Throughout the house, the rock protrudes into the space, contrasting with the luxurious textures of the furnishings. Interior and exterior fireplace hearths are carved out of existing stone; levelled on top, they are otherwise left raw. In the master bathroom, water cascades through three polished pools, natural sinks in the existing stone. Off the main space, a powder room is carved out of the rock; a mirror set within a skytube reflects natural light into the space.

The materiality of the built structure – mild steel, smooth concrete, and drywall – create a neutral backdrop for the interior furnishings and artwork and the exterior views to the bay and surrounding landscape. Contemporary works of art by Cameron Martin, Jesse Paul Miller, Andres Serrano, Franz West, and Claude Zervas are mounted inside and outside the house. Antique furniture and art objects are complemented by custom pieces. The custom light fixtures are based on the designs of Irene McGowan, a Seattle artist and lighting designer best known for her work with noted Northwest architect Roland Terry.

Design Firm: Olson Kundig Architects
Lead Architect: Tom Kundig

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cuts into a rocky outcrop appeared first on Dezeen.