Project: m.o.r.e. CLT Cabin / Location: Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) / Architects: Kariouk Architects Location: Ottawa / Wood Fireplace: Stûv / Flooring: Forbo Flooring Systems / Roofing and Siding: Diamond Steel Roofing / Doors and Windows: Elite / Interior Lighting: Juno / CLT Walls: Zublin Timber / Photography: Scott Norsworthy
The m.o.r.e. CLT Cabin in Ottawa, Canada, subverts the paradigm of the North American cottage as a romanticized log cabin in the woods, Kariouk Architects says. “In reality, these cottages are ‘woodsy’ versions of suburban homes and include every modern convenience.”
This project is not that. It “inverts this idea through a separation from the landscape that is much more sustainably constructed than other cottages,” the firm adds. “This intention to unravel eco-fictions is not one of cynicism, but rather responsible optimism.”
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The modern building touches the land lightly and offers many sustainable features. It uses a steel mast to reduce the size of the foundation, integrates low-waste cross-laminated timber structure, uses a “folded” structure for greater tensile strength, has off-grid power and high-efficiency heating, and creates a home for endangered local bats.
Kariouk says the project has no extraneous parts in terms of its task to provide for human shelter. “Although it has no extra parts, it does outline ways in which nuanced consideration of legal codes, building technology, structure, and ethics can be brought to bear upon each other, yielding an unexpected outcome,” the firm says.
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Interpreting the local building codes required finesse. Zoning for the area required a 100-foot setback from the lake, and the architects incorporated a cliff face at that 100-foot mark, when normally it would have been blasted.
“To minimize harm to the immediate hillside and forest, a zoning variance was pursued to allow the front of m.o.r.e. CLT Cabin to hover over the 75-foot mark,” the firm says. ‘A 2-year legal challenge was won and the solution that spoke to the spirit of setbacks was accepted.”
The technical solution to the environmental issue involved a single concrete footing and a steel “mast” placed within the required setback. Avoiding a conventional large foundation preserved the watershed’s flora and soil, preventing erosion, as did elevating the construction zone above the hillside. “As concrete is one of the biggest emissions sources in construction, reducing its use dramatically lowered the project’s carbon footprint,” the architect says.
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Kariouk Architects built the structure with glulam beams and CLT panels, which were entirely milled offsite and then hoisted into place, minimizing construction time and avoiding damage to the landscape from construction machinery. Moreover, all building materials were sized for a smaller short-trailer truck to prevent the felling of trees along the road.
The home takes advantage of sustainable, renewable energy. It is powered by solar units and uses breezes and cross-ventilation that flows through its 12-foot interior ceiling height. Its extra height above the lake also helps.
Even though the cabin is elevated about 65 feet above the ground, its south-facing glazed wall is shaded in the warmer months by the surrounding tree canopy. In winter, the bare branches allow plenty of sunlight to enter through the large windows and help to heat the home via solar heat gain.
In addition to providing a cool place for the owners to spend time, another goal of the home was to create extensive lodging for endangered brown bats. To accomplish this, bat pods were integrated into the mast to provide safety from climbing predators and a clear flight path to the lake.
