The driving idea behind this seasonal house is departure: from a ubiquitously connected life, from a typical experience of living, and from an assumed comfort. By rearranging and reinterpreting these elements, the resulting dwelling supports a heightened awareness of one’s connection to and experience of a place.

Located on an off-grid island on a lake in midcoast Maine, the building is composed of two offset parallel shed-roof bars. Each is oriented outward from a central circulation spine, encouraging connections to the lake, walking trails, overlooks, and other features of the island. Under the roofs, separate “cabins” connected by a series of covered and open decks equate to rooms: a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, and a screened porch. The gaps between them, in combination with the offset volumes and orientation to the light, create a layered effect that helps to break down the scale and to frame specific views. The rooms provide public spaces inside and in the interstitial spaces outside where people can gather, as well as more private spaces into which people can retreat, which gives the house flexibility in how it is inhabited and enjoyed by friends and family.

Because of the site’s remote nature, much of the usual infrastructure necessary for construction—including power, concrete for foundations, and easy delivery of goods—is unavailable. There is no barge on the lake, so one is being sourced and operated by the building crew in order to ferry materials and equipment to the site. Ideas about how to solve these problems inform the process and, to some degree, the form the building takes and how it operates.

Location: Midcoast Maine
Architect: Elliott Architects
Landscape Architect: Michael Boucher Landscape Architecture
General Contractor: Vision Builders
Landscape Contractor: Sunset Knoll Landscaping
Construction Start: May 2024
Construction Complete: December 2024