Chris, a recent guest of ours left a very nice review of the Pioneer cabin and his experience there. If you are looking for an objective view of the design this is a good summary.

The design is fantastic, with views to the outside from almost everywhere. My visit allowed me to see a number of nice design details that I would not have fully appreciated from just studying floor plans. The sliding doors at opposite ends of the ground floor allow a cross breeze through the kitchen and living area, which would be very nice in the summer. From the entry, you can see out the far side of the cabin, and the window at the top of the stairs adds light and space to the stairwell. Just a few of a dozen or so details you can only pick up in person, and all superbly executed in the Pioneer. The Blaeberry River is only a few meters away, and the sound of water running over stones is constant whenever you are outside or have the doors open – fantastic.

The whole review can be found here. Thanks for the kind words Chris.

The Cowboy is certainly a likable personality so it is no surprise that we find it rubbing shoulders with fellow members of the 2009 Canadian Architect Annual Awards of Excellence .  Congratulations to D’Arcy Jones Design and their meticulous attention to detail that earned them the prestigious Award of Merit for everybody’s small scale favorite, the Cowboy.  So it’s now official when you escape to the Cowboy for a weekend you are indeed spending your time in very esteemed company.  Click through for more details on the award and the renderings D’Arcy submitted for the competition.  (more…)

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Mention the Douglas Fir Plywood Association and you’re unlikely to conjure up notions of hip leisure living in swell modern digs. However, the Douglas Fir Plywood Association demonstrated an unexpected vision of modern prefab cabins blissfully coexisting with the natural environment when they published Second Homes for Leisure Living in the 1960s. The brochure is a collection of 16 mid century modern cabin plans by various architects including George Matsumoto, Frederick Liebhardt, David George and Henrik Bull . The fantastic illustrations by Bob Wandesforde evoke leisurely summers of suntanning, motor boating, and wildlife photography all within a horseshoe toss of a modern prefab cabin. This collection is terrific proof that the idea of contemporary design blending well with nature is nothing new, and may just be the perfect platform for enjoying nature in the best way possible.

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A while back we posted some sketch models that were part of the design process underway at D’arcy Jones Design . Since we have released both the Ranger and Cowboy it would only be natural to show the logical conclusion of these designs from the designer’s point of view. D’arcy has posted some really nice images of the finished concept models and elevations for both the Ranger and the Cowboy. These lovely models give you a real sense of the attention to detail that went into the development of these perfectly proportioned spaces. Looking at these makes me wonder if we shouldn’t be offering these models as a collection themselves.
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