The architecture blends a “soft modern” sensibility with midcentury influences, featuring dark-toned natural wood siding and a metal roof that allows the structure to recede into the surrounding landscape.

Fern House is a magical and entirely deferential response to the site – the boulders, the trees, the grass, the topography – effectively creating a sense of exploration in the woods.

Among the ferns and trees on this steep site, a young family envisioned making their year-round home a facet of its surroundings: a place that balances warm, comfortable interior spaces with a clear connection to the surrounding landscape and rippling water.

To further blur the distinction between the home and its topography, all the lower roofs are planted and extend back into the hillside so that the house appears to be emerging from the landscape rather than piled on top of it.

The house was designed for a young family that dreamt of a place to inspire adventure for their kids: summer camp and the comfort of home crafted into one.

Carefully designed within the 35-acre site, this house is pulled apart into a series of spaces dispersed into the woods with compact, precise insertions. This design choreographs openness, views, and relationships, prioritizing the experiences between built forms and within the wild natural environment.

This project sounds, and looks, like something out of a fairy tale. And, as any good fairy tale begins: Once upon a time, a couple purchased a wooded lot near Highland Lake, wanting a house that would hold multiple truths within in.

Multiple buildings arranged in a U-shape create a private basin with views of waterfall-striped mountains and lush landscapes.

A variety of gathering spaces throughout the property encourage unique experiences and connectedness with each other as well as the environment.

Creating a synergistic link between the environment and a structure through stylistically diverse, fresh, and creative designs distinguished by a highly collaborative, craft-driven, and openminded approach.

“You can make the land conform to the house or the house can conform to the land,” says Sokol, who leaned hard in the latter direction.

The details on this structure pay homage to traditional Japanese buildings without being maudlin.

Together we worked out a plan for practical updates to enhance functionality and livability, while at the same time staying respectful of the John Calvin Stevens design.

By preserving the existing outline of the boathouse, they maintained the sense that this landing had always been there.

Like much of the rest of the Maine coast, rocks and hardscrabble ledge dominate the landscape—hardy and beautiful features worth embracing rather than removing.

A 15-year collaboration culminates in a gift from three craftspeople to a special client.

Screened Landing is a well-articulated, thoughtful, and nicely proportioned design. The juxtaposition of light and dark was notable.

This seasonal landing sits on a point where the soothing sounds from a flowing brook meet echoes of activity on the lake. It is a space centered in tranquil connection to nature and active engagement with recreation, a daylight-filled space for gathering people and gathering things.

Will Winkelman of Winkelman Architecture on an Architect’s Broadened Education Through Hands-on Work on his Own Renovation.

An elevated plane of planted terraces and decks.

From the Judges, Professional Curb Appeal: The home’s clean lines and thoughtful use of raw materials complement the rugged scenery, and the open walkway creates an unobtrusively functional structure that frames views of the lake, allowing the landscape to enhance the design.

From the Judges, Professional Kitchen: On the whole, I would say that all the elements in this space are beautifully tied together with an elegant, pared-back palette that will stand the test of time.

From the Judges, Professional Bath: What better way to take in nature than in an outdoor shower under the canopy of trees? This one is seamless with the surrounding forest — even the rustic shingles lining the stall blend right in.

A young couple finds that maximizing a long, narrow lot in Portland requires clearing some unexpected hurdles.

With the help of architect Will Winkelman, Angela Drexel brings her family’s 1960’s property on Mount Desert Island into the Twenty-First Century.

The Whipplewood Residence truly blends the program of an artist’s home with the steep, heavily wooded, linear site… The design includes a variety of quirky details, including a beautifully crafted wooden spiral staircase.

Whipplewood is an artist’s home that blends into the trees and wooded landscape of a steeply sloping site. The structure was designed to reach up into the treetops but also anchor solidly into the hillside, weathering naturally over time within its surroundings.

A stunning modern lakeside home strikes just the right note, offering a creative escape as well as a lively entertaining space, while seamlessly blending into its surroundings.

From the Jury: It feels like every part of this building has been designed with intention. …it reminds me of summer camp, and it sits nicely in the landscape, and it makes me smile.

A Tiny Cor-Ten Steel Cabin Is in Perfect Sync With the Surrounding Woods.

A pondside house for a couple that love to entertain.

You’d be hard-pressed to spot this Sebago Lake compound from the water or surrounding forest – which is precisely the point.

Near Sebago Lake, Winkelman Architecture conjures a contemporary riff on camp style.

From the Jury: In addition to the thoughtful siting and blended integration of the building onto the site, we were impressed by the Far Cabin’s size. In just 570 square feet of shelter, the project achieves all the “architecture” of its much larger residential competitors.

A house in the Berkshires is inspired by the beauty that surrounds it.

The Far Cabin, Midcoast.

A Green-Roofed Maine Home Rises Above a Limited Footprint.

A couple’s love for boatbuilding inspires a meticulous design on the coast of Maine.

Architect Joanna Shaw of Winkelman Architecture on Respect in Architecture.

Small but mighty, a tiny carriage house in Southwest Harbor punches above its weight.

September 2019 – Elizabeth Choi, photographs Jeff Roberts.

A living roof in Maine.

To the Island – a comfortable and low-key camp on Moose Pond.

A feature of Camp in the Trees in Dwell Magazine.

A beautiful coastal home at Pine Point, Maine.

2019 – Will Sutherland. Features: Short Bus Retro. Publication Link

December 2018 by Brian Shuff, Photography by Jeff Roberts.

May 2018 by Debra Spark. Photography by Jeff Roberts. Styling by Janice Dunwoody.

2018 by Katie Hutchison.

December 2017 by Debra Spark. Photography by Jeff Roberts. Styling by Janice Dunwoody.

2017 by Philip Jodidio. Features Short Bus Retro.

2017 by Dale Mulfinger. A Maine Island Camp. Features Wooded Island Camp.

2017 – Katy Kelleher, photographs Greta Rybus. Features: Downeast Coastal Residence, Sebago Red Camp, Wooded Island Camp.

December 2016. Features Tidal River House.

December 2016. Features Higgins Beach House.

Architect Joanna Shaw on architecture that contributes to its environment

December 2015. Edited by Rebecca Falzano. Photography by Sarah Beard Buckley.

July 2015 by Nathaniel Reade. Photography by Trent Bell. Features Downeast Coastal Residence.

2015 by Katie Hutchison. Features Trollstua Huset.

2015 by Katie Hutchison. Features Heron Cottage.

2015. Gestalten. Features Short Bus Retro.

October 2014 by Sarah Stebbins. Photography by Irvin Serrano. Styling by Janice Dunwoody. Features Fish Hook Camp.

October 2014 by Justin Ellis. Photography by Trent Bell. Features Downeast Coastal Residence.

December 2012 by Rebecca Falzano. Photography by Trent Bell. Features Trollstua Huset.

2014. Project Team: Eric Sokol, Will Winkelman. Project: Downeast Coastal Residence.

November 2012 by Meadow Rue Merrill. Photography by Brian Vanden Drink. Features Oaklawn Beach House.

Craft, the physical manifestation of design, is an indespensable part of architecture. Will Winkelman explains why.

August 2012.

2012. Project: Fishing Camp Boathouse.

October 2011 by Nancy Heiser. Photography by Brian Vanden Brink. Features Willard Beach House.

September 2011 by Susan Grisanti. Photographs Trent Bell. Features Short Bus Retro.

The Maine cottage comes of age

May 2011 by Bruce Irving. Photographs Trent Bell. Features Panther Pond Camp.

Architect Will Winkelman’s foray into industrial design

November 2010 by Debra Spark. Photography by Trent Bell.

The transformation of an English manor house in Cape Elizabeth

May 2010 by Debra Spark. Photography by Trent Bell. Features Stone Gables Residence.

October 2007 by Amanda Smith. Features Peaks Island Cottage.

2006 by Marc Vassallo. Taunton Press. Features Peaks Island Cottage.

2006 by Jane Gitlin. Taunton Press. Features Maine Camp.

2004 by Dale Mulfinger. Taunton Press. Features Maine Camp.

2004 by Linda Leigh Paul. Universe Publishing. Features Evergreen Landing Cottage.

2003 by Anna Kasabian. Rizzoli Publishing. Features Little Diamond Island Boathouse.