This Glass Cabin Appears Barely There on the Shores of Lake Minnetonka

Glass is one of the most important tools an architect has to work with—inviting outside views into the interior, making weighty forms appear to float weightlessly within the landscape, and creating clean, contemporary architectural lines. When a family of five, with three children in college, approached Charlie & Co. Design to build a new home on the shore of Minnesota’s Lake Minnetonka, it was these qualities they wanted to evoke.

"We wanted to blur the lines of interior and exterior space, both literally and metaphorically," says Charlie Simmons, founder of Charlie & Co. Design. "When sitting in the interior, you feel at one with nature and your surroundings regardless of the season."

To realize this vision, Simmons reached out to Marvin to supply the eye-opening expanses of glass. It was a collaboration that seemed destined to happen—not only is Marvin an industry leading supplier in windows and doors, but Simmons specifies the brand in around 80% of the homes he designs. "We start every project assuming we will incorporate Marvin products into our design," he explains. 

The result is an "urban cabin" crafted from just three materials: glass, steel, and timber. The open-plan living and dining area is sandwiched between impressive stretches of Marvin glazing. The three sets of 20-foot Marvin Modern Multi-Slide Doors formed a 60-foot expanse of glass, allowing the interior to feel like a covered porch in warmer months. The more private areas—including bedrooms and bathrooms—are contained within more solid forms at either end of the living space. 

"Less is more," says Simmons. "We used just three materials in our palette for both interior and exterior—due to the transparency, we didn’t want to have competition between the two elements."  

The major challenge with this glass-led approach was one of structural integrity. The design vision called for a seemingly weightless glass pavilion. Glass, however, is not able to hold the weight of a building. Simmons found a solution by cleverly integrating structural support into functional design elements, such as a stone fireplace that doubles as a shear wall. 

"There was a massive effort between the Marvin team—including Jeff Hoffman, Senior Architectural Project Manager—the structural engineer, and us to push the boundaries of how little structure we could get away with, without compromising the product or our vision for the design," reveals Simmons. 

Privacy was another challenge of using so much glass in the design—but one that was easily solved through landscaping and the addition of more pine trees around the home. Accoya timber cladding around the more private areas, including bedrooms, complements the natural landscape, as does the wire-brushed white oak millwork throughout the home.

The large expanses of glass not only allow the interior to be visually connected to the landscape, but allow the forest to literally infiltrate the home. "My favorite space is the lower-level Zen garden," says Simmons. "It’s a two-story light well that functions as a means of egress for the bedrooms, but more importantly as a way to get light into the lower level." A skylight in the roof allows natural light to filter into the tranquil garden, where saplings from the surrounding forest have been planted. 

"What's really remarkable about this home is just how unique it is," says builder John Kraemer. "We build homes of all shapes, sizes and styles, and what I thought was so cool about this house was just how much glass there is. You can see from the front yard all the way through the backyard, it's literally like living in a glass box. When you sit in the space, you feel happy and healthy, taking in the views and the natural light."

Make space for what matters at marvin.com/makespace.

Project Credits:

Design: Charlie & Co. Design

Builder: John Kraemer & Sons Custom Builders

Windows and doors: Marvin

Photography: Spacecrafting