She Built a 330-Square-Foot Cabin in One of Washington’s Biggest Outdoors Destinations
The tiny concrete retreat packs in the storage, giving its owner a launchpad for skiing, running, and getting away from it all.
The tiny concrete retreat packs in the storage, giving its owner a launchpad for skiing, running, and getting away from it all.
Catherine Humblet started making regular drives from Seattle to Mazama along North Cascades Highway 10 years ago. Located in Washington’s Methow Valley, the small town is home to snow-crested mountain peaks, wildflower-dusted trails, and rivers teeming with fish. A mecca for outdoor enthusiasts and endurance athletes, it was the kind of place Catherine—who counts herself as both—could delight in cross-country skiing (the area has the largest trail system in North America), mountain biking, and trail running year-round.
GO’C designed a tiny concrete-and-steel cabin in Mazama, Washington, that gives their client, Catherine Humblet, year-round access to the region’s network of running and cross-country skiing trails.
Photo by Ben Lindbloom
After a decade of coming to Mazama, Catherine, who works in supply chain management, started looking for a vacation property where she could detach from her laptop and instead connect with the outdoors. "The opposite of being in front of a computer is going for a six hour run," she says. While renting a cabin on one trip to the area, Lydia, Catherine’s dog, escaped on "a solo adventure." During her four-hour search for Lydia, she stumbled across a piece of land surrounded by ponderosa pines that had mountain views and good sun exposure. By March 2016 she was the official owner of the four-acre parcel, eventually building a cabin on it.
The cabin’s concrete walls are in dialogue with the rocks poking out of the ground. Setting the home into the hillside improves its thermal performance.
Photo by Ben Lindbloom
One of the benefits of setting the home back into the hill is that Catherine and her dog, Lydia, can use the steel roof like a deck.
Photo by Ben Lindbloom
See the full story on Dwell.com: She Built a 330-Square-Foot Cabin in One of Washington’s Biggest Outdoors Destinations
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