Cabin Fever

Black granite counters top fir cabinets, and are accented by walnut open shelving in the new kitchen. The pendants are by Visual Comfort.

The remodel started in 2013, and construction wrapped in 2016. New exterior cladding includes cedar lap siding, both painted and left rough and finished, Montana Moss stone, and a standing-seam metal roof.

Built of sustainable cross-laminated timber, a prefab cabin by the architecture firm MAPA offers a tranquil escape for São Paulo–based Maurício Uhle and Ralph Weigand. “We wanted to be in touch with nature, in a house made of wood and glass,” says Maurício. Adds Ralph, “We’d been searching for a solution that was well designed and cost-efficient and had a minimal impact on the environment.”

“The project is designed as a delicately carved volume, which nestled into the site following its topography. The formal gestures are strong and powerful, while the material—sandy beige wood and red cedar slats—are more delicate and warm,” says Bourgeois.

“The home is quite small, but designed in such a way that you don’t feel it,” Herrin says. Lift-slide openings by Quantum Windows & Doors, which were fabricated fewer than 50 miles from the house, make the main living space seem larger.

A small porch on the southern facade leads down to the lake.