MINIMAL HOUSE

erie, pennsylvania

Near the shoreline of Lake Erie west of Erie, Pennsylvania, this modest weekend retreat is comprised of a single room that puts on view the ever-changing environment of the Lake Erie horizon. The original structure was a modest fisherman's cottage built in the 1950s. The interior was a series of small rooms with low ceilings and little relationship to the lake view. A year and a half long, part-time renovation consisted of stabilizing the existing perimeter masonry walls. The interior walls and ceiling were removed allowing the existing attic ceiling to become a visual wooden boat-like hull to the new interior space below.

The new interior space provides for a series of activities that acknowledge the lake view. A single utility volume is placed in the interior that contains a shower area, service area and upper level sleeping bunk. This volume defines a series of activities within and around it such as showering and dressing, food preparation, dining and living. The dining room table is on a pivot and can be used as part of meal preparation or moved to view the lake. Through these series of modifications, the interior has become inseparable from the informal and picturesque Lake Erie view.