The 891 Vail Drive cabin sits in the dense Sitka spruce and hemlock forest that characterizes the lower slopes of the Girdwood valley — a site that required the building to be as much about restraint as expression.
The mono-pitch roof pitches steeply to the north, shedding snow loads away from the primary entry and creating a tall south-facing wall of glazing that floods the open-plan interior with light during the short winter days.
A living green roof over the carport volume is planted with native sedge and fern species, allowing the building's lower mass to virtually disappear into the hillside when viewed from above.
