Architect Visit: Olle Lundberg's Scavenged and Salvaged Cabin - Gardenista
Photography courtesy of Lundberg Design except where noted. Back in 1996, San Francisco architect Olle Lundberg responded to a classified ad about a property in Cazadero, CA (population: 354). We couldn t really afford it Lundberg says but we fell in love with it and bought it anyway An uncompleted cabin... ...provided a starting point for the house that Lundberg designed and built with his own hands occasionally helped by friends and employees Since his company, Lundberg Design, was thriving in the city, he only had weekends to work on the cabin. The cabin may be small–less than 1,000 square feet plus a 1,500-square-foot deck–but it has become the site of countless unexpected refinements. Photograph by Alan Owings. One reason the work has progressed slowly is that Lundberg insists on the perfect materials often industrial discards found in unlikely places The... ...swimming pool for example is a former livestock watering tank made of virgin growth redwood which Lundberg says could be 80 years old The pool is 25 feet in diameter and 14 feet deep, not ideal for laps but great for diving. Photograph by Angkana Kurutach. The industrial steel sash windows in the cabin were salvaged from various remodeling jobs. Interior walls are covered in thin strips of Montana white pine; the exterior siding is reclaimed redwood. Lundberg and Breuer entertain a lot; the open-plan kitchen puts everything in easy reach. There’s also an outdoor kitchen, with a cement pizza oven, a tandoor, and a cooking hearth. One of the first things Lundberg installed was a garden, figuring that Breuer could grow tomatoes while he was busy building. Photograph by Olle Lundberg. Lundberg also built a combination greenhouse and office nearby for Breuer. To make the design of the greenhouse harmonize with that of the cabin, Lundberg built a shed-style roof–but reworked it with standing seam glass. Photograph by Olle Lundberg. The result is a jewel-like glass box in the midst of the forest. Photograph by Olle Lundberg. Using the cabin as a laboratory for new techniques, Lundberg installed a biological filter for the pool. Photograph by Alan Owings. It’s easy to imagine that Lundberg would revel in being able to design whatever he wants, free of clients’ desires and demands. Photograph by Mark Seelan. What’s different about this project, he says, is that it gives him the “Zen experience” of building it himself. To see cabins designed by members of the Remodelista Architect and Designer Directory, check out 10 Summer Cabins and The Ultimate Creekside Cabin, one of our favorites in northern California.