Private Cabin

This cabin first was imagined in 1970 when the family made their first trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior as a family of four. Staying in cabins built in the 20’s, they have loved the informal feel of the simple buildings, their intimate and direct connection to the land, the filtered views of the lake through the birch, the rugged permanence of the shoreline and the boundless horizon across the water. A new cabin needed to comfortably accommodate 15 people and the more typical two to five.

The cabin uses two buildings to separate functions and allow for “smaller living” when fewer people are there. Both buildings use simple copper clad roof forms to shelter and shape the space and direct views opening to the immediate and distant landscape. The main building celebrates the immediate landscape along the south with a wall of thin stainless steel frames forming internal shelves to hold favorite things and a variety of operable and fixed windows. To the east the ground slopes away and the deck extends out providing a direct connection to the powerful lake and endless horizon.

Moving into the bunkhouse the first floor is protective and enclosing. Upstairs creates a totally new experience for the family with a panoramic “in the tree canopy” view. The playful ceiling stiffens the building and echoes the lake and the sky reminding them that the lake will each time wear them down, smooth them and soften them again.