Trestle Cabin by The Miller Hull Partnership
Miller Hull Partnership designed Trestle Cabin as a prototype for developing low-impact cabins on challenging and remote sites. Located in San Juan County, WA, the house hovers above the ground on a steel exoskeleton that provides nautical views while avoiding excavation and the disruption of the surrounding flora and fauna. The design employs a strategy of long-term adaptability, featuring a modest footprint and an independent armature that accommodates reconfigurations over time.
Adapting Metabolist Architect To Create Low Impact Cabin Prototype
This project seeks to develop a prototype for the development of low impact cabins on challenging and remote sites. Borrowing conceptual strategies from Metabolist architecture of the 1960’s, the proposal utilizes a language of superstructure and modules to allow for adaptations over time. Recognizing the immense investment and environmental impact of remote development, the strategy employs long-term thinking – allowing the structure to remain relevant across many generations and owners.
Perched Above A Lush Hillside At The South End Of Saltana Island
The project is situated on a remote island within the Salish Sea, about 70 miles north of Seattle, Washington. Perched at the edge of a native fir and madrone forest, the site is defined by steep topography and southerly views across the San Juan Islands. Challenging site access and the desire to preserve the sloping natural grade resulted in a scheme which suspends the primary living enclosures above the site, among the tree canopy. This approach allows the ground plane to be given back to the natural flora and fauna of the island. Wild sheep and deer regularly graze this hillside and can often be spotted passing under the cabin.
Prestressed Exoskeleton Mimics Vertical Tree Trunks, Meshing With Forest
The design was informed by three principles:
Lightly touching the land: Located on a steep hillside, the project embraces levitation rather than excavation as a general strategy. A rhythmic steel exoskeleton negotiates the sloping topography while establishing an occupiable plane hovering above the ground. The verticality of the steel frames references the surrounding tree trunks, blending and recessing into the forest.
External Armature Stays Unaffected By Changes To Internal Module Spaces
Adaptability through time: Envisioned as a 200-year super-structure, the steel frame acts as an external armature independent of the wood framed thermal enclosures or “modules”. As occupants and space needs change over time, the independent systems allow for reconfigurations of the modules within the steel frame. Interior spaces connect to generous exterior decks, expanding and contracting living spaces throughout the seasons.
Building To Reduce Operation Overhead During Heavy Footprint Usage
Reducing consumption: Building less conditioned space is the real hero in the energy consumption story. Circulation spaces for the 868 SF cabin occur outside, reducing the amount of interior space to condition while establishing a daily connection between the users and the natural elements of the site. An expansive overhang on the south tempers the mid-day sun while providing year-round weather protection to outdoor living spaces.
Point Improvements Keep Future Infrastructure Options Open
Energy needs that couldn’t be addressed through passive means are offset by a modest 3.6kW PV array which was right-sized for the current occupant load. Expansion infrastructure for the PV system was implemented in the initial construction, anticipating that occupancy schedules will evolve through time.
Photography courtesy of The Miller Hull Partnership
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