Like much of the Pacific Northwest, Washington’s Puget Sound is a lush landscape full of extensive waterways and incredible scenery. To build a sensible home among this gorgeous landscape, remaining keenly aware of the area’s natural surrounding should undoubtedly be any architect’s chief concern — something the Seattle-based architecture firm MW Works pulled off with ease on a recent project. Designed and built with local hikers, climbers, and campers in mind, this sleek cabin exudes modern style and embraces low maintenance.
Situated in south Puget Sound’s Case Inlet, this cozy abode leans on an aesthetically pleasing color scheme to ket it perfectly blend into its surroundings. By turning to natural materials such as cedar, MW Works pulled off the feat of building a cabin that looks as part of its environment as the forest’s surrounding trees. Because of this, the firm nabbed a slew of American Institute of Architect nominations (and wins), including the esteemed 2016 National Honor Award.
Inside the cabin, the architects installed a healthy helping of floor-to-ceiling windows that allow an abundance of natural light to flood each floor of the home. Considering the home faces out on a large body of water, the resulting sunsets (and colored sky from said sunsets) are beyond comparison — something anyone other than the owner can take in only via photos. Furthermore, the use of such windows almost gives the home a sense of transparency, which in turn lets the owners feel naturally part of Case Inlet’s environment.
Perhaps the residence’s best feature — during the summer months, at least — is its gorgeous wooden roof, which is accessible via an exterior staircase. If taking in a beautiful sunset from the living room’s bay windows seems like a relaxing way to spend an evening, just imagine that same sunset without a roof overhead. Due in large part to this, MW Works’ creation achieves the rare feat of serving as an exquisite place to live while also boasting a world-class view. You can’t beat that.
