Lark House
Mirafra (Lark) House
"The lark in mythology and literature stands for daybreak, as in Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale", "the bisy larke, mesager of day", and Shakespeare's Sonnet 29, "the lark at break of day arising / From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate" (11-12). The lark is also (often simultaneously) associated with "lovers and lovers' observance" and with "church services", and often the meanings of daybreak and religious reference are combined (in Blake's Visions of the Daughters of Albion, into a "spiritual daybreak") to signify "passage from Earth to Heaven and from Heaven to Earth"." (Stevens 2001). - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lark)
Mirafra House is a functional, whimsical, small footprint (10' x 10' + jog) house for overnight guests. The swooping roof mimics evergreen trees while also being a nod to storybook architecture, befitting the cabin's enchanting location in an old growth forest. The framing can be timber or stick (currently budgeted for the latter) containing cellulose insulation, and plaster as an interior finish. It has approximately 10% glazing on the South or South East sides, in the form of reclaimed windows/door from Nova Scotia (A, B). The interior has a small footprint stove (like C), which is open to the upstairs. Moveable chairs and table leave room for yoga/meditation/board games, and a downstairs alcove functions as a sitting or sleeping area. Two people could stay either as one up/one down (for privacy) or two upstairs (by moving the mattresses together). The staircase is a double winder design with approximately 2 foot treads (D). Personal item storage includes half of the under bench area (the other half is accessible by outside and stores PV equipment) as well as in/above the cabinet. The window boxes can hold berries or salad mix for easy snacking, and the pathway to the cabin curves around the Eastern side. A flagstone patio with arbor can be added at a later date on the Western side, where the window is higher on the wall. A South facing roof provides area for a photovoltaic system.
The helical foundation piles are placed by a local company with lowimpact equipment that can be walked into the cabin location (E). The piles themselves are manufactured in Quebec (F). Lumber can be sourced locally for framing, sheathing, and exterior finish (budget here shows Hefler Forest Products in Nova Scotia, as their website had detailed pricing) while windows and door are architectural salvage from Nova Scotia (or designed as fixed-in-place salvaged glass). Roofing material is cedar shakes sourced at a local discount lumberyard, exterior siding also cedar to disappear into the surrounding environment as much as possible.
(Competitor's text)
6 scanned / 5 viewable
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