The footprints were there, waiting for architects Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. There were two small buildings sitting—in disrepair and despair—on the banks of Dry Creek in Sonoma, California. The structures were rickety, their design inefficient, and their future uncertain. The solution? Two tiny glass cottages were built as replacements to welcome visitors to the property.
Sited at the edge of the property, the new cottages—which serve as office and guest quarters—are go-betweens that connect "the public world of the entry drive and the secluded forested creek," the architects say.
Photographs via Architizer.
Above: With walls of windows overlooking the creek, the cabins were sided in western red cedar "with the precision and thoughtfulness of a cabinet," the architects say.
Above: Ribbon windows offer selective views while maintaining privacy on the driveway side of the cottages.
Above: Glass walls open the indoor space to nature, and Douglas fir siding reinforces the connection.
Above: The architects' rendering. The glass walls face "tangled oaks and moss-covered rocks" in the creek.
Above: "In the evening hours, the spaces glow," the architects say.
Above: A small grove of fruit trees flowers in early spring.
For more from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, see A Historic Farm, Ocean Views Included. And on Remodelista, see our post Required Reading: Wood Architecture Now!
For more of our favorite tiny spaces, browse our Outbuilding of the Week archives.
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