The Hilltop Cottage is a pavilion overlooking a river valley below. Memorializing the place where the owners were engaged, the cottage provides a place of prospect and refuge for seasonal dwelling.

The shingle-clad structure responds to maritime material culture. Sliding barn doors conceal the openings to present a monolithic and primary form. The hipped-roof and thickened walls recall the vernacular language of historic Scottish shielings and Irish tower houses. A foundation of local field stone grounds the project.

Glazed wood doors provide an additional layer of enclosure. When opened, the north corner of the cottage disappears completely, without the use of steel structure. What originally appears to be a pure, mute form carved from a single block, transforms into an instrument for viewing the landscape. Natural light and air pass through the openings in the walls integrating its surroundings with the interior. Two vaulted skylights extend the interior volume vertically - creating a nested central living space. Inspired by the Orinda House by Charles Moore (1962), the parti is a ‘house within a house.’

The cottage is of a type - an offspring of precedent projects designed by our firm. Retracted doors reveal a deep overhang that is reminiscent of the Bigwin Cabin’s exaggerated roof proportions. Recessed cavities in the 4’ walls hold a hearth, kitchen, and storage; much like the Morris House and the El Aleph Guest House push the essential program of daily life into the thickness of the outer walls.

Eastern white cedar shingles, woven at the corners, create a taught skin around the exterior structure. The finishes reinforce the purity of form through minimalist detailing.

“Taken alone, tradition stagnates, and modernity vaporizes. Taken together, modernity breathes life into tradition, and tradition responds by providing depth and gravity.” – Octavio Paz