This project is located on Clark Point on Guemes Island. The site was logged a decade before design work began and suffered significant blowdown of trees in the following years. The logging debris and downed trees made the site impenetrable at the projects inception, making this a project as much about the creation of place as the creation of architecture.

The approach for the project was based on memory, contrast, and the play between public and private spaces. The client has fond memories of time spent at small summer cabins on the East Coast so the concept of small buildings in different parts of the site was appealing. All of the buildings were created to be no larger than necessary but big enough to afford some grace.

The cabins were designed to allow a family and their friends to engage each other and the environment while providing small buildings for retreat. Both cabins are similar in form, with the same roof and footprint. But each building differs slightly from the other. Both have bedrooms that engage the woods at the edge of the meadow and use the tree canopy for privacy. A sitting room at the front of each cabin opens on three sides to a porch and the central meadow. The bathroom is located between and takes natural light from a window high in the roof.

Solar panels provide enough power for a net-zero power use while geothermal heating eliminates the need for propane or inefficient electric heating.