Olson Kundig - Houses in the Forest
November 25, 2024
Award-winning architecture practice, Olson Kundig is renowned for creating spaces that bring architecture and nature together, ensuring that every project is grounded within its surrounding environment.
Working on a number of homes, houses and cabins located in or close by forests, Olson Kundig has carefully considered the materials and design approaches used to maintain the natural beauty of these residences as well as the environmental footprint of each.
Costa Rica Treehouse
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Costa Rica Treehouse is sited to capture ocean breezes, aided by the wooden shutter system that also provides privacy and shading without disrupting natural ventilation. The building is porous to allow light and breezes to pass through its system of wood screens, with all floors able to be opened completely to the environment. All movable screens are hand-operated to foster active engagement with the natural context. The experience of this context varies throughout the home and throughout the day as framed and filtered views respond to the shifting play of light and shadow.
Contributing to its carbon positivity, widespread use of local materials showcases the natural resources of the area while eliminating the need for costly, carbon-heavy shipping to the remote building site. Teak is the primary building and finish material; the house’s siding, screens, ceilings and most of the structure is made from teak. The four central posts are also teak, selected and harvested from a nearby plantation about four years before construction began. The largest beams in the home are cenizaro wood, another local tree with a similar grain that grows larger than teak. The wood will silver with age, further relaxing into the context of the surrounding jungle and blurring the boundary between built and natural environments.
Dragonfly
Whitefish, Montana
At its heart, this vacation house is about creating a place where a young family can gather away from the city to enjoy the outdoors and create memories. The house emphasizes the crossing point between two ecological zones—a distinct yet subtle marker of the family’s presence and legacy. Exterior siding of reclaimed barnwood will turn silver as it weathers, weaving the home closer into the forest.
The centre of the home is the open-plan living and dining area, which has double-height guillotine window walls on either side. From afar, this transparency allows for views through the home to the lake beyond. When both window walls are open, the effect is of a single plinth floating above the forest floor. Native plantings grow up to the home’s edges, and a screened porch on the south end opens to a covered deck. These varying degrees of enclosure allow the family to engage with nature during all seasons.
Cabin at Longbranch
Longbranch, Washington
In 1912, Jim Olson’s grandparents built a summer cottage on a forested site on Puget Sound. When he was eighteen years old and a first-year architecture student, his dad gave him five hundred dollars and said, “Go build a bunkhouse.” This was Olson’s first great opportunity. Nestled amidst the trees of this waterside forest and raised on stilts, this tiny cabin sat respectfully on the landscape. What began as a 200-square-foot bunkhouse in 1959 has seen the addition of several interconnected rooms through a series of remodels in 1981, 1997, 2003 and 2014. Each successive expansion has reused and integrated the previous structure rather than erasing it, revealing the history of the architecture and the process of its evolution.
The cabin is intentionally subdued in color and texture, allowing it to recede into the woods and defer to the beauty of the landscape. Materials enhance this natural connection, reflecting the silvery hues of the overcast Northwest sky and tying the building to the forest floor. Simple, readily available materials were used throughout: wood-framed walls are sheathed in plywood or recycled boards, inside and outside; doubled pairs of steel columns support beams that in turn support exposed roof structures. Interior spaces appear to flow seamlessly to the outside as materials continue from inside to out through invisible sheets of glass.
Rio House
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
This private retreat adjacent to the Tijuca National Park outside of Rio de Janeiro is a rational steel‑and‑glass box supported by two concrete piers. The modest house frames a secluded hideaway for the owners to retreat from the city and connect with the natural landscape.
Painted, marine-grade stainless structural steel—the home’s primary material—stands up to the humid climate where corrosion is a concern. Manual gizmos on pivot windows and retractable window walls, as well as a solar water heating system, allow the home to function during intermittent power outages. Local construction techniques are incorporated inside and outside the home, from board-formed concrete site walls and colorful plaster interior walls to the Brazilian wood and vermelhão stained concrete floors, a common vernacular tradition.
Analog House
Truckee, California
Designed in collaboration with the client—an architect based in Truckee—Analog House celebrates its rugged, high desert site, deliberately shaped to preserve existing specimen trees and create numerous indoor/outdoor connections to link occupants to their surroundings.
Seeking to save as many significant trees as possible, the design response leaned heavily on the client’s deep knowledge of the site as well as a survey of the existing trees. As a result, Analog House adopts a meandering form that invites users to journey through the forest, rewarded with different views and experiences along the way. Program area adjacencies were carefully planned to accommodate the client’s needs and lifestyle, while protecting the sensitive landscape. Kitchen, dining, living and sleeping spaces occupy distinct zones, punctuated by circulation pathways that redirect and bend, creating moments of surprise along the journey. The home’s layout further introduces site walls and solid volumes that create private courtyards, fostering indoor/outdoor connections that link occupants to their surroundings, an important consideration for this active family.
About Olson Kundig
Olson Kundig is a collaborative design practice whose work expands the context of built and natural landscapes. Founded on the edge of the Pacific Rim, we embrace an outsider’s perspective. We design for people, place, and experience, balancing rational and intuitive thinking.
Notes to Editors
If you would like further information, please contact ok@camronglobal.com