RIVER CABIN – Featured in LUXE Colorado magazine 2011 fall edition. Article written by Patrick Soran “…Sisson brought her deeply considered ideas about organic design to the project. For her the term is more than a trend; it is something larger and philosophical, almost reverent. ‘Organic architecture evolves from the local landforms and wind patterns,’ she says. It keeps space efficient, but crafts places that are just the right size to satisfy needs, no larger and no smaller.
Sisson begins her design with a large curve – comprising both wall and roof – on the north to act as a shield against the elements. She arcs it upward and southward to create the dramatic living space. Instead of dropping it to the ground on the south she stops it well shy of the earth, finding just the right place to pause so the roof provides shade on the glass, but allows open views. ‘Curves that enclose a space feel both intimate and grand,’ she says.
Into this arc she cleverly nests everything the owner needs. An intimate living area bounded with a leather-upholstered sofa faces a two sided fireplace; the master bedroom reposes on the other side of that fireplace. A loft for the occasional guest tucks in above the kitchen, and a cylindrical built-in bench envelops the diminutive dining table. A deck spreads wide along the vista-viewing glass.‘Organic architecture is about living outdoors as well as in,’ Sisson says. Exterior materials are meant to fend off weather; sturdy aluminum paneling sheaths both curved and flat surfaces. Winter-weathering cedar is used for battens and windows. Inside, finishes are organic in the traditional sense of the word. Floors are oak, trims aspen, cabinetry is repurposed barn wood and the curled beams themselves are spruce. There is not a glint of shiny, painted-on finish to be seen. ‘I use the wood raw. I let it breathe,’ Sisson insists. Furniture selections embody a similarly relaxed strategy. Darker woods, heavily textured fabrics and retail suppliers kept things simple to choose ship and install.
‘Everyone in this world has their own best place in the world to be,” says the owner, ‘This is my best place.’
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