Big Boulder Camp

A Traditional, 3-season camp for a couple with 4 children; 2 additional families visit frequently AND need to be accommodated (approximately 20 people total). The clients wanted a camp with a deep woods “feel” that fit into the site as if it has been in place for generations. Daylighting was important, and the camp needed to be easily secured for coming and going and seasonal protection.

Bedrooms: master suite, two guest suites, and two bunk rooms (one boys, one girls).

Living room: (expandable: a family of 6, or up to 20) with a stone fireplace.

Dining room: intimate for a family of 6 AND expandable to seat up to 20.

Kitchen: walk-in refrigerator, commercial dishwasher, 8-burner range.

Screened porch(s), Sitting porch(s), Sleeping porch(s).

Mudroom, Laundry room, Linen closet, Office alcove, Recreation room.

Fast-track, design/build process.

To diminish the visual mass of the whole, the program was broken into two parts; a ‘main’ side building and a ‘bunk’ side building. The space between the two pieces was roofed and screened as a porch and serves as a central mudroom/entry. This space between the masses frames a visual link to the pond in distance, on an axis with the auto arrival/drop-off circle.

Entry circulation can flow straight down and out, through porches toward THE pond, reinforcing THE user’s link to the landscape. Different materials are used on each ‘side’ to further break up the mass of the whole AND tell a different story with each. To further reduce the amount of “sprawl” in the landscape, a daylight basement was created and used to house bunkrooms, baths, and utility rooms. Motorized security shutters were inconspicuously integrated at the ‘main’ side openings and over-screened porches for ease of securing.