Under contract with Good Weather Studio, two models were constructed for the Vancouver Art Gallery’s exhibition Cabin Fever. The larger exhibit consisted of models and drawings which chronicled the development of cabins in North America.
The first model is of the Cartop Dome originally built by architect Steve Bear in 1966, the geodesic cabin which utilized cut-out car tops as a modular building material. The recycled material enabled the project to be low-budget and achieve its unique shape. The model uses recycled beer cans as a scaled down interpretation of the original ingenuity of the cabin.
The second cabin is of the 1922 Abbot Pass Hut, commissioned by the Candian Pacific Railway. The high altitude cabin sits at the top of a rugged mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies. The original structure was constructed of rock scree found on site, the full concrete model embodies this relation between building and site. The small scale of the hut represents the building within the context of the imposing mountain peaks.
The first model is of the Cartop Dome originally built by architect Steve Bear in 1966, the geodesic cabin which utilized cut-out car tops as a modular building material. The recycled material enabled the project to be low-budget and achieve its unique shape. The model uses recycled beer cans as a scaled down interpretation of the original ingenuity of the cabin.
The second cabin is of the 1922 Abbot Pass Hut, commissioned by the Candian Pacific Railway. The high altitude cabin sits at the top of a rugged mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies. The original structure was constructed of rock scree found on site, the full concrete model embodies this relation between building and site. The small scale of the hut represents the building within the context of the imposing mountain peaks.
Cartop Dome exhibit
Left: Close-up of Cartop Dome model
Right: Cartop Dome, 1966, Drop City, Co
Abbot Pass Hut exhibit
Right: Abbot Pass Hut model construction
Abbot Pass Hut model close-up
Left: Abbot Pass Hut cira 1920’s
Abbot Pass Hut close-up