It's 1am and you've been on the road for hours when two beacons of light pierce through the darkness telling you that a warm bed awaits - in fact, you can even see it (fluffy pillows and all) through a stylish wall of glass. That's the soothing scene that awaits weary travelers who make these minimalist guest cottages in Woodside, CA their destination. Called the Dry Creek Outbuildings, these modest structures by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson were built from sustainable Western Red Cedar and beckon visitors like illuminated lanterns in the forest.
The outbuildings, though we hate to call them that because they are so much more, comprise a cottage and an office that were erected to replace the decrepit existing buildings that once stood in their place. Western Red Cedar, a sustainable material that had the lowest environmental impact when weighed against other material choices, line theboxes, and is just one of the eco considerations that contributed to the houses winning the 2010 Green GOOD DESIGN awards.
“They sit at the edge of a creek between the public world of the entry drive and the secluded forested creek,” describe the architects. “Western Red Cedar clad boxes, constructed with the precision and thoughtfulness of a cabinet, face the entry drive while more private glazed living areas open up to the creek. The weathered cedar boxes contain the ‘service’ elements of the program: a galley kitchen, bathrooms, an office and utility rooms. Delicate ribbon windows are strategically placed in the simple façades providing specific views, introducing light, and maintaining privacy where required.”
The same warm cedar is used on the interior as well, translating the rustic language of the outside world and softening it to make sense indoors. From inside the boxes, guests still have an almost unobstructed view of the great oaks and moss covered rocks of the babbling creek. When night falls, the large lanterns light up with the moon adding a gentle glow to the forest.
B. C. Jackson
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