Weekend Cabin: Delta Shelter, Mazama, Washington

by steve casimiro on February 4, 2011 · 11 comments

11 responses

Built in 2005 in Mazama, Washington, and designed by Tom Kundig, the Delta Shelter is 1,000 square feet of modernist retreat. It measures 20×20, sits three stories tall, and has 10×18 steel shutters that are opened or closed via a hand-cranked wheel.

Photos: Tom Bies

Weekend Cabin isn’t necessarily about the weekend, or cabins. It’s about the longing for a sense of place, for shelter set in a landscape…for something that speaks to refuge and distance from the everyday. Nostalgic and wistful, it’s about how people create structure in ways to consider the earth and sky and their place in them. It’s not concerned with ownership or real estate, but what people build to fulfill their dreams of escape. The very time-shortened notion of “weekend” reminds that it’s a temporary respite.

Tagged as: shelter, weekend cabin

{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }

Craig Rowe February 4, 2011 at 11:30: That’s all you need.
birkirstin February 5, 2011 at 08:29: Cool! It reminds me of houses I have seen in Sweden.
Jody Kaufman February 5, 2011 at 09:51: Stellar design.
David D February 7, 2011 at 10:29: I love it. The location is pretty cool as well.
yolanda Tamez February 10, 2011 at 09:21: Wow, how much did it cost to build it, love the design>>>>>>
Joe Schmoe April 4, 2011 at 02:24: The driveway and mowed lawn make it look too suburban and manicured. A driveway? Come on. Also those new trees make it look like they clear cut a patch of wilderness to build this thing.
Adam May 31, 2011 at 18:08: They’re going to regret that flat roof when the snow starts piling up and ruining it. There’s a reason the Alps are full of A-frames.
Jessica Janes June 3, 2011 at 20:28: The hand cranked shutters are great. So, it seems like a one of a kind. Was it built on the site? Do you have more pictures that show how the space is used? It is a wonderful.
Zach August 29, 2011 at 15:18: I’ll second Jessica. A floor plan would be nice. I would like to see how they really used the space.
Michael Webster October 3, 2011 at 15:32: Sorry, it is ugly.
Does not fit in with the landscape at all.
Harlowe Thrombey May 10, 2012 at 23:33: It’s the location and great view that makes these buildings nice. Architecturally, they are quite ugly, however. Human designers are too addicted to squares and white. At least there wasn’t an overload of white. It has an ugly shape, but nice colors.