Rolling Huts Herd

Rolling Huts by Olson Kundig | Photo © Chad Kirkpatrick / Olson Kundig

Architects: Olson Kundig
Location: Mazama, WA 98833, United States
Photography: Tim Bies, Chad Kirkpatrick, Derek Pirozzi

Responding to the owner’s need for space to house visiting friends and family, the Rolling Huts are several steps above camping, while remaining low-tech and low-impact in their design. The huts sit lightly on the site, a flood plain meadow in an alpine river valley. The owner purchased the site, formerly a RV campground, with the aim of allowing the landscape return to its natural state. The wheels lift the structures above the meadow, providing an unobstructed view into nature and the prospect of the surrounding mountains.

The raw nature of the materials responds to the natural setting

The construction of each hut is simple. It is, in essence, an offset, steel clad box on a steel and wood platform. Walls are topped by clerestory windows, over which a sips panel roof floats in an inverted, lopsided V. At the north end of the hut, a double-paned sliding glass door opens to the outside. Living occurs not only in the 200 square feet inside the box, but on the 240 square feet of covered deck space surrounding it. Interior finishes – cork and plywood – are simple, inexpensive, and left as raw as possible. Exteriors are durable, no-maintenance materials – steel, plywood and car-decking. The raw nature of the materials responds to the natural setting.

: Rolling Huts by Olson Kundig | Photo © Chad Kirkpatrick / Olson Kundig

: Rolling Huts by Olson Kundig | Photo © Tim Bies / Olson Kundig

The huts are grouped as a herd: while each is sited towards a view of the mountains (and away from the other structures), their proximity unites them. Showers, as well as parking, are located in and near the centrally located barn, set a short distance from the herd. Rain run-off and snow melt from each hut are allowed to percolate into the surrounding naturalized landscape. [Project description by the Architects]