BEFORE YOU tell yourself 10 reasons why this mountain cabin is the most impractical thing you have ever seen, know these facts about it.
It was built as a guest house for a larger all-year home. The owners lived in it with great comfort while they waited for the completion of their larger house, located just up the slope overlooking the dam at Lake Arrowhead, California.
The architect, Lucille Bryant Raport, likes the way the glass disappears into the roof, opening even the peak of the cabin to trees and sky.
The structural engineer, Gordon de Swarte, likes the honest open use of the steel tie rods which serve both as curtain rods and as the lower chord of the roof truss.
The photographer, Julius Shulman, likes the careful placement of the house for sun and view, the handling of the overhanging eaves so that sun is controlled without destroying the view. His photograph, top right next page, shows this.
The owners enjoy the free feeling of the mountains. They like the radiant heat from the warm floor panel and the ease of housekeeping regardless of number of guests entertained.
How does it perform in the snow? Aren't the glass walls cold? Won't glass be broken by tree limbs in storms? How about snow I against glass? What about vandals?
The glass traps the heat of the winter sun and keeps the cabin warm regardless of outside temperatures. At night and when there is no sun, drawn curtains help intercept loss of heat to cold glass.
Floor warmed by hot water, in wrought iron pipes in concrete slab, and heat-circulating fireplace are more than sufficient for the coldest days.
To protect glass from heavy drifts of snow, portable shutters can be hooked over the walls. So far these have not been needed, for when the snow slides off the roof it is carried by its own weight out and away from the house.
The shutters also protect the glass from tree limbs or from possible damage by vandals whenever the house may be un- occupied for any length of time.
If you forget cabin requirements for a moment and consider the application of the design to a small house in the country, several features are of especial interest. The arrangement of space is flexible. One room is not unusual in a vacation house. But flexible arrangement in this 525 square foot area is not obtained in the usual man- ner by scattering beds, tables, and kitchen equipment along the walls of the room. Notice how the fireplace and built-in counter give definite control of living, utility and sleeping space without lessening the spaciousness of the room.
The bedroom behind the fireplace is private, separated from the living quarters `by curtains.
Kitchen equipment, including hot water heater, washing machine, dishwasher, sink with automatic garbage disposal unit, and refrigerator, is lined up against the rear concrete wall of the house. The rear wall also stands as a retaining wall against the slope of the site.
To provide privacy when there are several guests, curtains are drawh between different sections.
All plumbing vents have been taken up between roof rafters to the ridge. They are concealed by horizontal louvers running the length of the roof.
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