The Eagle Harbor Cabin by Finne Architects
Seattle based architect Nils Finne has sent us photos of a cabin he designed on the shores of Lake Superior at Eagle Harbor, on the northerly edge of Michigan State’s Upper Peninsula.
Nils Finne says:
How did we end up doing this project? Well, the clients are old friends from Seattle who live in a house that I renovated with them about 8 years ago. So, when they acquired the Lake Superior property, they asked me to design a get-away cabin for their family. It is a spectacular site, and the cabin sits about 30 feet from the lake. The design is tailored to the site, with a 40-ft. long glass wall facing the lake. We did a custom dining table and a custom coffee table, and the cabinets are PLYBOO (a very eco-friendly material consisting of bamboo and plywood) with mahogany end panels.
Visit the Finne Architects website – here.
Eagle Harbor Cabin Design Statement
The Eagle Harbor Cabin is located on a wooded waterfront property on Lake Superior, at the northerly edge of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, about 300 miles northeast of Minneapolis.
The wooded 3-acre site features the rocky shoreline of Lake Superior, a lake that sometimes behaves like the ocean. The 2,000 SF cabin cantilevers out toward the water, with a 40-ft. long glass wall facing the spectacular beauty of the lake. The cabin is composed of two simple volumes: a large open living/dining/kitchen space with an open timber ceiling structure and a 2-story “bedroom tower,” with the kids’ bedroom on the ground floor and the parents’ bedroom stacked above.
The interior spaces are wood paneled, with exposed framing in the ceiling. The cabinets use PLYBOO, a FSC-certified bamboo product, with mahogany end panels. The use of mahogany is repeated in the custom mahogany/steel curvilinear dining table and in the custom mahogany coffee table. The cabin has a simple, elemental quality that is enhanced by custom touches such as the curvilinear maple entry screen and the custom furniture pieces. The cabin utilizes native Michigan hardwoods such as maple and birch. The exterior of the cabin is clad in corrugated metal siding, offset by the tall fireplace mass of Montana ledgestone at the east end.
The house has a number of sustainable or “green” building features, including 2×8 construction (40% greater insulation value); generous glass areas to provide natural lighting and ventilation; large overhangs for sun and snow protection; and metal siding for maximum durability. Sustainable interior finish materials include bamboo/plywood cabinets, linoleum floors, locally-grown maple flooring and birch paneling, and low-VOC paints.
Visit the Finne Architects website – here.
.
Wanda on 10 Jul 2009 at 2:03 pm #
I went to sleep last night and dreamed I lived in this gorgeous “cabin”!
Lance on 10 Jul 2009 at 9:19 pm #
The softer colored wood and the simply lines and comfortable looking furniture really set this place apart. This is definitely my idea of roughing it.
Rosie on 11 Jul 2009 at 8:55 pm #
Gorgeous but that bedroom doesn’t really look very cosy.
JPC on 11 Sep 2009 at 6:26 am #
I wonder if this is this available for a rental?
hZ! on 14 Nov 2009 at 12:43 am #
All things must pass, and I hope that steel tubing and wire balustrades shoot through in my lifetime- preferably within the next week or two. But they are more than made up here for by the restful, soul-loosening angles in the ceiling and windows, and by the excellent abundance of wood. More widely spaced rafters would be appreciated and I’d rather see them through the top window than break their line by bevelling them at the ends. More windows could always be added to let in more light and not detract from the harmony of this stable and reliable design.
The look of the panelling in the kitchen is not good though I see why it has been chosen, for its linearity. A better choice might have been a crushed bamboo laminate such as this, but slightly blonder and with a finer, more regular pattern. I do not believe it would visually advance.
The rows of lights are beautiful.
In the bedroom, why not have more glass, the better to lie in bed and enjoy the view of the sky? It is a lovely little eyrie though. Houses should in the main be just like this for the mental health of the populace.