This 570-square-foot Cor-Ten steel cabin was designed by Winkelman Architecture, located on the coast of Bar Harbor, Maine. The dwelling embraces the surrounding natural beauty with delicate respect for the site. Weathering beams spring from the rising ledge, gently carrying the cabin over boulders and mossy terrain.
The cabin was devised to capture natural light patterns sweeping through the space, reflecting the playful relationship between nature and structure. The architects walked the land to find a setting nestled into the trees with soft breezes from the shore. Respecting the site was the top priority. Continue below to see the rest of this amazing cabin…
PROJECT DETAILS: ARCHITECT Winkelman Architecture BUILDER Cold Mountain Builders STRUCTURAL ENGINEER Albert Putnam Associates LANDSCAPE DESIGN Richardson & Associates INTERIOR DESIGN Winkelman Architecture
The cabin is perched on a ledge, anchored to the site on one end and soaring southward to capture summer breezes within a treehouse-like screen porch. Where topography rises, a series of thoughtfully placed board-formed concrete piers tether the building to the ledge below allowing the terrain to flow through.
The approach by foot sweeps below the cantilevered porch and gently rises to a granite slab entry. The cabin’s walls jog below the simple geometry of a planted roof canopy to create outside sheltered spaces.
At the entry, a collection of site harvested firewood is protected by the overhanging planted roof and underfoot granite stones and ferns sweep in below the shade. The plan carves out spaces for sleeping, reading, writing, preparing food, and bathing (both indoors and out). The 420-square-foot interior space opens to a 150-square-foot screen porch with welcoming natural breezes.
What We Love: This Cor-Ten steel cabin provides a compact home with an indoor-outdoor living experience. This home beautifully immerses with nature to create a feeling of serenity. A screened porch extends the outdoor season while offering shelter from the elements. We are loving the overall concept of this home and its small yet functional design that can also host overnight guests when needed.
Tell Us: Would this cozy cabin be your idea of the perfect retreat in the forest? Let us know why or why not in the Comments below!
Note: Be sure to check out a couple of other fabulous home tours that we have featured here on One Kindesign in the state of Maine: An historic barn undergoes a remarkable transformation in New England and Step inside this breathtaking barn cottage retreat on the coast of Maine.
Above: In this small kitchenette, the cabinetry is composed of birch plywood and a maple butcher-block countertop. This compact structure is mainly used as a bedroom, where most of the cooking is done in the great outdoors.
Above: Around the corner from the bedroom, this built-in window seat can be used to host an overnight guest.
The concrete slab floor captures warmth from the wood-burning stove on cool nights and holds a cozy temperature to the morning hours. Additional materials include plaster walls and exposed hemlock rafters on the ceiling.
Above: A steel detail on the bathroom door repeats the material from the exterior. It is the only interior door in this structure.
Above: The bathroom vanity is composed of birch with a concrete sink and shelf cast by a local artisan.
The interior space is filled with the ebb and flow of natural light and playful shadows as sunlight washes through the canopy of hemlock rafters. Strides to be respectful of the site defined the types of utilities that would be available, including seasonal water. Although, for two winters now, the cabin has had the company of a full-time resident.
Above: This screened porch is immersed in a woodsy setting, offering shelter from the pesky bugs.
Above: This outdoor shower of this Cor-Ten steel cabin is accessed via an indoor shower and gets a lot of use.
PHOTOGRAPHER Jeff Roberts
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