This Hut in the Redwoods Will Give Walden Fans the Vapors

Tucked onto the Central California coast, where beds of wildflowers and copses of redwood trees boast panoramic ocean views, sits Hawk House, a "minimalist retreat cabana" that contemporary American naturalists (a.k.a. Walden-toting folks who yearn to live off-the-grid) will be clamoring to recreate. Designer Alex Wyndham and builder John Grill crafted the structure—just big enough for a bed, a chair, and a desk—from redwood bark reclaimed from previous projects.

One of the walls is made from sliding glass, while the planks that compose the side walls are cut and pieced together like doors of a low-tech DeLorean, winging out to open up the space even more. It's all part of the cabana's back-to-nature appeal. There's no electricity (candles only if you need light during evening hours) and Wyndham and Grill planted wildflowers along the slope of the structure. "The roof is planted with native wildflowers and native grasses that provide habitat for native pollinators and act as a nursery for native plants," writes the designer. "Over time, wind will disperse the native seeds from the roof and spread them up and down the hillside surrounding the cabana creating an oasis of native species."

· Hawk House / Alex Wyndham [Arch Daily]
· Six Garden Sanctuaries for the Modern Day Thoreau [Curbed National]