Lake Martin Cabin
The cabins are the first LEED for Homes project on the over 44,000-acre lake, and the homeowners intended it to serve as a positive example of sustainable development in the region.
The owners wanted to create a resource-efficient, healthy home that preserved the wooded ecology of their property.
The final design occupies almost the same footprint as original 1950s cabins, but is expanded with new basement and loft areas, while leaving the surrounding woods intact. Every inch of interior space is utilized with closets hidden in the paneled walls. Beds are tucked into window seats and lofts, and even hanging from trusses in the basement.
Two existing cabins were deconstructed and materials reused for finishes and cabinetry. Drywall was eliminated entirely and walls and ceilings clad in the whitewashed wood from the 1950s structure. The older wood was milled into flooring, or used as exposed structure in its original weathered state.
The design utilizes advanced framing techniques, super insulated wall, and insulated concrete formwork. Durability and ease of maintenance were essential concerns in every design move. At all of the entrances, wood slatted bridges and stairs were designed to help knock the sand and red clay off bare feet and boots before entry. A tree grate forged in a foundry designed by the owner’s business was utilized as a secondary boot scraper and welcome mat at the primary entrance.
A large screened porch and a variety of shaded outdoor spaces provide a strong connection to the site and an easy flow from inside to out. Inspired by the vernacular design of the 1930s worker housing at Lake Martin Dam, windows wrap the corners of the main living spaces and bedrooms, breaking visual barriers between interior and exterior. Rainwater is managed so that it engages the senses in summer storms, with rain chains visible from the interior channelling water through a dry creek bed to infiltration zones and a metal roof magnifying the sound of each drop.
Since 2011, annual tours of the cabins have been offered for Auburn University students from the School of Building Science and Interior Design focusing on sustainable design for a hot humid climate, and LEED for Homes.
Project type: residential new construction, deconstruction, salvage
Location: Eclectic, AL
Certification: LEED Gold
