Colorado Building Workshop has designed COBS Year-Round Micro Cabins, located on a steep hillside in a lodgepole pine forest in Leadville, CO, USA. Completed in 2015, these micro dormitories for a community totals 120m² (1,292ft²).
To satisfy clients’ lodging and storage requirements, and to facilitate completion in three weeks of on-site construction, the cabins were conceived as two separate elements, a “box” and a “frame”. The “frame” acts as a storage device for the educators’ large gear (bikes, skis, kayaks, etc.) while simultaneously housing the cabin “box” and covered porches. The prefabricated cabin “box” rests in the frame under the protection of a “snow roof” designed to keep the winter snow load off the waterproofed roof below. Hot rolled steel provides a low maintenance rain screen for the box. This steel cladding and the vertical columns blend with the lodgepole forest minimizing the visual impact of the cabins. Structural taped glazing eliminates the windows frame and connects the occupants directly with natural views.
This project was designed and built by 28 graduate students, from the University of Colorado Denver, in 19 weeks. A team of interdisciplinary faculty and professionals helped guide the process. The project showcases architect lead design-build and the ingenuity of an integrated project delivery design team.
— Colorado Building Workshop
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Photographs by Jesse Kuroiwa
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