Project Details
- Project Name
- Colorado Outward Bound Micro Cabins
- Location
- CO
- Client/Owner
- Colorado Outward Bound School
- Project Types
- Student Housing
- Year Completed
- 2015
- Shared by
- Symone Garvett
- Team
-
Derek Ackley, Student
Sidney Aulds, Student
Becca Barenblat, Maymester Student
Brent Beicker, Student
Matthew Breen, Student
Andrew Brown, Student
Jeff D'Addario, Maymester Student
John Giddens, Student
Brandon Gossard, Student
Aaron Gray, Student
Dane Hardy, Student
Chad Holmes, Student
Casandra Huff, Student
Mark Hurni, Student
Timo Jyrinki, Student
Rachel Koleski, Student
Scott Lawrence, Faculty
Kate Lucas, Student
Nathan Moore, Student
Matt Ollmann, Student
Sam Palmer-Dwore, Maymester Student
Aleka Pappas, Student
Holly Paris, Student
Nathan Pepper, Student
Kit Piane, Student
Ken Roberts, Student
Louisa Sanford, Student
Rick Sommerfeld, Faculty
JD Signom, Faculty
Joe Stainbrook, Student
Brandon Sweeney, Student
Phil Stuen, Student
Amanda Tharp, Student
Jordan Vaughn, Faculty
Elliott Watenpaugh, Student
- Consultants
- Structural Engineer: Andy Paddock
- Project Status
- Built
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Located on a steep hillside in a lodgepole pine forest, these cabins were designed as micro dormitories for the Colorado Outward Bound School. The cabins sit lightly on the landscape, directing views from private spaces towards trees, rock outcroppings and distant mountain views of the Mosquito Range. More public “community” views are directed into social spaces that develop from the organization of the cabins in relationship to one another. These community spaces are made up of front porches and the negative spaces between cabins.
To satisfy clients’ lodging and storage requirements, and to facilitate completion in three weeks of on-site construction, the cabins were conceived as two separate elements, a “box” and a “frame”. The “frame” acts as a storage device for the educators’ large gear (bikes, skis, kayaks, etc.) while simultaneously housing the cabin “box” and covered porches. The prefabricated cabin “box” rests in the frame under the protection of a “snow roof” designed to keep the winter snow load off the waterproofed roof below. Hot rolled steel provides a low maintenance rain screen for the box. This steel cladding and the vertical columns blend with the lodgepole forest minimizing the visual impact of the cabins. Structural taped glazing on the windows eliminates mullions and connects the occupants directly with natural views.
The interior of the cabin is skinned in CNC’d birch plywood bringing warmth to the interior and evoking a connection with the trees surrounding the site. The plywood is specifically milled to accommodate desks, beds and storage for each user. The walls and CNC’d plywood were prefabricated in Denver, flat packed onto trucks and shipped to Leadville to shorten the on-site construction timeline.