Project Details
- Project Name
- The Hut
- Location
- OH
- Architect
- Midland Architecture
- Client/Owner
- Dutton Family
- Project Types
- Single Family
- Project Scope
- New Construction
- Size
- 600 sq. feet
- Shared by
- Madeleine D'Angelo
- Project Status
- Built
This project was selected as a winner in the 2019 Residential Architect Design Awards
Custom Home / 3,000 Square Feet or Less, Citation
The Hut presents a very singular image of domesticity, with its almost-square plan topped by a hipped roof. Looking from many vantages like a treehouse, its exterior is entirely clad in cedar shingle and shakes, with a monochromatic interior of white-painted wood lap paneling. Designed in the Columbus, Ohio, office of Midland Architecture, the Hut’s secluded site in eastern Ohio was formerly a strip mine. The clients—Midland partner Greg Dutton, along with his father and brother—built the structure with relatives and friends as a retreat on the Belmont County property that’s been in the family for almost four decades.
Set above the ground on concrete piers, and on the edge of a steep slope, the 600-square-foot cabin operates entirely off the grid. The living room and bedroom are a single space centered on a wood burning stove located in front of a 25-foot-wide wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the surrounding forest and a lake.
The brightness of the interior is enhanced by 10-inch-wide tongue-and-groove eastern white pine flooring throughout, and white oak countertops and built-in millwork in the kitchen. The cabin relies on solar power and collected rainwater to keep it self-sustaining.
Over time, the family has been restoring the site’s once-industrial landscape to its native forest while operating a cattle farm on the 2,000-acre property. The architects call the Hut’s design an example of “country minimalism,” although the clear Scandinavian influences suggest something a bit more sophisticated than one might expect from a cabin in the woods. But the project is clearly minimal in spirit, and certainly fits its rural locale, so perhaps that’s an apt description.
Project Credits
Location: Belmont County, Ohio
Client: Dutton Family
Architect: Midland Architecture, Columbus, Ohio . Greg Dutton, Assoc. AIA, Matt Diersen, AIA (principals-in-charge); Matthew Manzo, AIA (project architect)
Interior Designer: Greg and Liz Dutton
Structural Engineer: Conway Engineering
Construction Manager: Greg and Chris Dutton
General Contractor: Withrow Contracting
Landscape Architect: Matt Lokay
Custom Millwork: Ryan Smith
Custom Cabinetry: Mullet Cabinet
Size: 600 square feet
Cost: Withheld
Materials and Sources
Appliances: Summit Appliance
Bathroom Fixtures: Kohler
Cabinets: Mullet Cabinet (custom)
Ceilings: Keim Lumber (Ponderosa pine tongue-and-groove)
Countertops: Ryan Smith (custom white oak)
Exterior Wall Systems: Keim Lumber (White cedar shingle)
Flooring: Stonewood Products (Wide-plank eastern white pine)
Kitchen Fixtures: Kohler
Lighting: School House
Metal: Ohio Valley Metal Roofing
Paints/Finishes: Sherwin-Williams
Photovoltaics/Other Renewables: Scherrer Engineering (photovoltaic system)
Roofing: Keim Lumber (White cedar shingle)
Wallcoverings: Keim Lumber (Ponderosa pine tongue-and-groove)
Windows/Doors: Andersen
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
The 600 square foot, off-grid cabin is located on the family’s farm in the Ohio Valley. The project came together thanks to a build team comprised of family and friends. The cabin, tucked in the woods, was a labor of love for a father and two sons, who worked together to build the secluded retreat. The project site, now a working cattle farm, which the family purchased in 1981, was originally part of a strip mine, and through their stewardship, has been reclaimed by forest, grasslands and lakes. The off-grid retreat was inspired by Scandinavian design and the ‘hygge’ mindset. The structure is sided with cedar shingles and sits amongst trees, atop a high bank overlooking a lake. Designed for peace of mind; the outside setting is brought in through a wide expanse of floor to ceiling windows. Touching the earth lightly with a minimalistic foundation of concrete piers the sustainably built space runs off solar power and collected rainwater. Heavily influenced by aspects of farming, the cabin was constructed using building techniques born out of tradition and logic, with simple materials used economically. The overall concept and design for the retreat demonstrate an emphasis on craft, in a style that we like to call “country minimalism”. Walking up to the front door, which is partially secluded, gives an impression of entering a tree house, as the landscape frames the structure. The cedar shingle clad exterior melds the dwelling into the surrounding forest. The interior is simplistic, featuring bleached Eastern Pine floors and walls clad in white painted lap paneling. The pared-back aesthetic allows the outside landscape to be ever more present on the interior.
Project Credits:
Project: The Hut
Architect: Midland Architecture, Columbus, Ohio . Greg Dutton, Assoc. AIA, Matt Diersen, AIA (principals-in-charge); Matthew Manzo, AIA (project architect)
Interior Designer: Greg and Liz Dutton
Structural Engineer: Conway Engineering
Construction Manager: Greg and Chris Dutton
General Contractor: Withrow Contracting
Landscape Architect: Matt Lokay
Custom Millwork: Ryan Smith
Custom Cabinetry: Mullet Cabinet
