After being referred by a friend and former client, Magnin Architecture was tasked to design a small cabin/retreat for a single commercial airline pilot based in Seattle, Washington. The goal was to downsize from an existing suburban single-family home to simplify and reduce clutter in a new full- time residence in a rural setting.

There were three potential sites for the project where proximity to a local airport was key: The San Juan islands in Washington, rural Idaho near McCall where the client and his family owned property, or the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Lake Tahoe, specifically a granite outcropping at the headwaters of the Yuba river. The home was designed as a prototype or a case study that could be tailored to any of the 3 environments.

The final design was just over 1,000 square feet which included a master bedroom, a small bunk room/sleeping room for guests, a shared bath, a laundry/mud room and plenty of storage inside and out. The ample living, dining and kitchen space is intended to be at one with nature with floor- to-ceiling glazing to the exterior, deep set windows under overhangs for protection from the elements and passive solar optimization, with walls chamfered to create a similar effect. The terraces and large sliding glass doors allow for extended exterior living space in the warm summer months, yielding a home that seamlessly ties into the natural environment as a place of calm and retreat.