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.

Apr 19, 2024 - 20:17
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.

Whether it’s cross-country skiing in the winter or trail running in the summer, the 330-foot home’s minimalist design encourages Catherine to be outside in the surrounding landscape throughout the year.

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.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing and a linear skylight help welcome the landscape within the cabin’s small footprint.

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 exterior’s concrete walls pick up on the tones of the rocks that emerge from the surrounding hillside.

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 building into the hillside is that Catherine and her dog, Lydia, are able to access the home's rooftop deck.

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

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