Staggered Cabin Uses Shed Roofs to Fit a Steep Mountain Site
Staggered Cabin is a cabin in South Lake Tahoe, United States, designed by Mork-Ulnes Architects. Completed in 2025, it adapts to a steep Sierra Nevada site with a series of shed-roofed volumes that step down the slope and shape small outdoor courts. Inside, a compact plan arranges sleeping rooms and baths around a central living and dining area, with plywood finishes and mezzanines extending the cabin’s usable footprint.
About Staggered Cabin
Situated above Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at an elevation of over 6000 feet (1800 m), Staggered Cabin uses a series of shed-roofed volumes to settle into a sloping site where the City of South Lake Tahoe meets the base of the mountains.
The dark-stained, cedar-clad forms shift and step down the alpine terrain, creating compact exterior courtyards that make the most of the site’s natural assets: boulders, mature Jeffrey pines, and a level patch of ground with strong sunlight.
Inside, the 1400 square foot (130 square meter) cabin organizes sleeping quarters and bathrooms around a central living and dining room that opens outdoors on both sides. Finished in plywood, the interior uses the steep shed-roof geometry to carve out additional mezzanine areas, extending the cabin’s utility while keeping its footprint measured and responsive to the land.
Large openings frame views into the trees and toward the immediate surroundings, drawing attention to the everyday character of the landscape. The exterior rooms formed between the staggered volumes also catch glimpses of the lake and distant mountains, tying the site to its wider setting without losing focus on what is close at hand.
Photography by Joe Fletcher
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