New York State Parks commissioned WXY architecture + urban to design the first vacation cabins and cottages at Wildwood State Park on Long Island, with10 cabins ranging in size from 670 to 784 square feet. The new vacation cabins are designed to provide high quality, affordable accommodations at Wildwood State Park on the Long Island Sound.
The cabin exteriors include materials like cedar shingles, reclaimed mahogany trim, and metal roofing and feature both one- and two-bedroom units, as well as a bathroom, kitchenette, screened outdoor porch and furnishings. Inside, the cabins are bright with plenty of natural light. The interior walls and floors are designed with unfinished natural wood.
Rustic design blends the indoors and outdoors
WXY architecture + urban planning’s design of the 10 rustic cabins on 3.5 acres merge indoor and outdoor living through a nature-inspired, rustic design. The structures’ natural, durable, and sustainable materials are reminiscent of the surrounding landscape, cabin typology, and historic New York State Parks buildings.
To enhance the natural look, the cabin exteriors were clad in rot- and infestation-resistant unfinished cedar shingles, cypress and reclaimed mahogany trim that will patina into a silvery grey, helping the cabins blend into the landscape. Their double-pitched roofs provide a changing perspective of their overall shape depending on the viewer’s direction and angle.
Guests staying in the cabins seamlessly transition from the outdoors to inside by way of a screened porch that opens to a bright interior that benefits from ample natural light brought in by large, mullion-free windows that can withstands hurricane-force winds as they accentuate outdoor views. Adding to the interior’s coziness are the clear matte-finished floors of ash tongue and groove, walls of 8-inch clear pine tongue-and-groove planks with knots, and ceilings made of birch plywood and battens.
In keeping with the architect’s rustic design are wall-mounted light fixtures made from jelly jars and simple, linear fixtures integrated with the tongue and groove planks. In the bathrooms, epoxy floors and walls are featured, along with a central floor drain for cleaning. Radiant heating under the floors is countered by cooling natural ventilation and ceiling fans
The project was funded by Governor Cuomo’s NY Parks 2020 initiative and completed in 2018. Collaborators include Stantec and Cashin Associates, and the builder New York State Parks Recreation & Historic Preservation (NYPRHP) Long Island Region. The project has been recognized by the Award of Honor, Society of Registered Architects New York; Excellence in Architecture Awards, Chicago Athenaeum; and the Excelsior Awards Award of Distinction, AIA New York State.
Team:
Client: New York State Parks and Recreation
Architects: WXY architecture + urban design
Builders: NYPRHP Long Island Region
Other Participants: Stantec, Cashin Associates
Photographer: Albert Vecerka / ESTO
Materials Used:
Roofing: Standing seam metal
Exterior cladding: Cedar shingles with decking and trim of Ipe, reclaimed mahogany trim
Interior floors: Ash tongue and groove with clear matte finish
Interior walls: 8-inch clear pine tongue-and-groove planks with knots and clear matte finish.
Ceilings: Birch plywood and battens with clear matte finish
