For him, the feeling of home, comfort, and respite meant being wrapped within an armor-like enclosure, inward facing privacy far outweighing the importance of outward views, spatial expansion or even daylight. To make the enclosed interior feel more spacious and inviting, we chose to loft the ceilings over the central living space selecting warm Baltic Birch plywood panels for finish materials. This had the added benefit of durability and ease of maintenance. The lofted ceiling culminates in the distinctive glass cupola which brings direct natural light into the interior while maintaining privacy.

At night, it is warm lantern-like light becomes a beacon communicating quietly with the rest of the village. Given the minimal footprint, defining distinct living, eating, and sleeping zones while maintaining maximum open floor area became the primary organizing principle. A built-in storage wall accommodates necessities, fine-tuned to efficiently house clothes, shoes and toiletries together with pantry staples, cleaning tools and essential appliances. A built-in desk come utility counter doubles as a dining table.

To further divide the space, the ceiling height is lowered dramatically within the sleeping zone. Capturing exterior space beneath the hipped roof canopy, the fully screened-in porch gave the home a second more open and social living space, welcoming all year round, where the resident could sit with friends and connect to the community.