Putnam Cabin

Sublime Lakeside Retreat

This project is a subtle touch intervention to a cabin fronting a glacial lake. The cottage is the sole structure on a 40-acre wooded hilltop in Putnam Valley. To access this cabin, you climb and scramble down a rugged road flanked by forests and fern species. The woodlands form part of 1,000 acres of protected land owned by the Hudson Highlands Land Trust. Agencie’s architectural design forges connections between the inside and the outside at every opportunity.

Agencie preserved the soul of the existing structure while introducing a new volume and blowing out the side of the cabin onto the lake. The glass wall amplifies the square footage and floods the house with natural light. The rustling of the forest and the crispness of the air bring a rebellious joy that surrounds the panoramic view of the pristine glacial lake.

Arch Elevations

Structure Log Hanger

Arch Roof Section

The structure is built in the pre-depression 20s, making it charming by default, with two stories bound within a 20×45 footprint. Upstairs is made with petroleum-rubbed American chestnut logs harvested from the 40-acre parcel, with a schist rubble wall foundation on the lower level.

You enter on the upper floor into a series of clumsily carved-out rooms–a utilitarian and endearing kind of clumsiness whose spirit we seek to maintain in the intervention. Such design elements, the wood-burning fireplace, exposed concrete walls, and steel hangers, create a modern lakeside retreat. Agencie engineered new structural and mechanical systems to extend cabin living from 2 seasons to year-round.