After they grew weary of their existing home, located on a 400-acre farm in Yolo County near the town of Winters (a vibrant farming community in the Sacramento Valley), the owners of the Yolo Cabin asked their SF-based architect son Lewis Butler of Butler Armsden (and a Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory member) to create a modern, simple, and practical space from which to continue a long family tradition of farming; cultivating the land around them. Knowing they would eventually move the cabin to another part of the property, the owners requested that the cabin be mobile: the structure is based on two large glu-lam beams and can literally be picked up and moved by a truck, resulting in a very light footprint on the surrounding area. To see more, go to of Butler Armsden.
Above: The architectural forms are inspired by the local water towers and lean-to sheds that dot the agricultural landscape in the area. Butler's father took photos of water towers that were all along the outlying areas of the farm for inspiration.
Above: The main room of the cabin is housed in the lean-to section and is elevated off the ground to enhance the view and capitalize on air circulation during the hot summers.
Above: The entire cabin is a mix of two very distinct farmhouse styles. "Its design is kind of a mash-up between two local farm forms," says Butler. "On one hand, you have this very classic water tower. On the other, you have this single, almost chicken-coop-like main building." The building has a very defined industrial feeling, part of which is due to Butler's use of standard farming materials throughout the structure.
Above: The neat loft tucked away in the living area functions as a sleeping area for overnight guests. The interior is clad in vertical grain Douglas fir.
Above: Butler used Douglas fir framing material on the porch and Alaskan yellow cedar for the decking.
Above: An open deck on top of the tower provides 360 degree views of the surrounding farmland.
Above: Looking at the open deck from below.
Photography by David Duncan Livingston.