Woodhouse comprises a 1,100-square-foot 19th century log cabin and a 1,760-square-foot modern addition. Retaining the historic, rustic qualities of the cabin was most important for the superkül team. To do so, the firm created a glazed corridor to link the existing cabin with the addition.
“I love the sequence of the entry of the old cabin walking through a bridge connecting to this more modern space,” says one of the award judges. Another judge highlights how successful the project was at creating an addition that is “part of the same story” as the existing cabin.
The two building forms are unified through the expression of exterior cladding materials: riffing on the rough-hewn logs of the cabin, charred wood siding as a modern element, and a low gable roof on the addition to complement the log cabin.
“One of the primary strengths of Woodhouse is that it takes a seemingly simple material palette and elevates the home to an expression of craft in as simple a form as possible,” says Andre D’Elia, architect with superkül.
An exterior breezeway divides the home’s public and private zones. Sixteen-foot wood panels hung from the soffit slide across the façade to fully enclose the breezeway, offering protection from winter winds. A vaulted ceiling on the interior features a bank of four skylights to open up the space and draw attention to the wooded landscape. The skylights, as well as glazed walls, eliminate the need for air conditioning in favor of passive ventilation.
D’Elia says a challenge in marrying the addition with the cabin was maintaining alignments with floor finishes and ceiling heights based on the existing irregular log heights of the exterior walls. The architectural strategy of the project prioritizes the flow of interior and exterior spaces with as few barriers as possible to maintain a connection to nature.
