Writers 8

Author:

This project was the 2013 CH+D Award Winner for Commercial Design.

Photographer: “I was intensely influenced by the site and the idea of creating buildings for such a specific use,” says Smith. Here’s hoping the spark of inspiration is catching.

Photographer: Sofa beds do double duty inside the tiny retreats. 

Photographer: The patchwork floor coverings of carpet squares and porcelain tiles were created from samples collected over the years in the offices of CCS. Furniture, accessories and artwork were chosen to complement each color combination.

Photographer: Each unit features the same minimalist amenities—a bed, bathroom and writing desk—but differs in its interior design scheme.

Photographer: To minimize the impact on the land and stay within the very limited budget, the design team created four identical studio forms, clad them in red cedar boards and staggered them under a steel canopy sliced with skylights. The canopy skylights mirror those cut into the roofs of the cabins, giving each resident a view of the sky and creating an ever-changing play of light and shadow.

Photographer: Nothing defines the juxtaposition of vastness and intimacy better than a 280-square-foot cabin set on a ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Photographer: “I felt the primary inspirations would be the dramatic views and light,” says Cass Calder Smith, the design principal of CCS Architecture. “But at the same time, there is also a sense of privacy.”

Photographer: The aim was to build a structure that inspires. That may not have been the explicit directive from the client, but considering that the building’s future occupants—writers, poets, composers and playwrights—would settle here for one-month periods to commune with their muses, the creative process was at the forefront for each of the designers during the building of cabins for participants in the Djerassi Resident Artists Program.