Northern Dogtrot Retreat- a Nice Place to Unfold
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 03.25.06
Dogtrots are an American building form featuring central breezeways where dogs often go to rest because of the flow of cool air. Shane and Betsy Williamson have created the northern version: a one hundred square foot cabin in the woods with folding panels to seal it up in winter, for protection from rampaging snowmobilers. Rules about second buildings or "bunkies" are strict but by being under 100 SF it slides in under the zoning radar in many municipalities; The dogtrot typology facilitates the merging of two outbuildings or garden shed sized units into a useful summer cottage. We like designs that make do with less while providing so much; we love the subversion of the existing regulatory structure. ::WilliamsonWilliamson via ::National Post
Sliding panels enclose the exterior threshold and reveal a glazed "double" of the west facing opening, effectively shifting the space of the dog trot from one of volume and passage through to one of viewing out to the landscape.
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