Cottage on Wheels
ESCAPE is a cabin-on-wheels designed by SALA Architects in conjunction with Dan Dobrowolski, proprietor of the luxurious Canoe Bay resort in Wisconsin. It's constructed in the same manner as a traditional stick-built home, with a balloon frame and standard windows, trusses, roofing, siding, and floors. It just happens to sit on top of a steel frame on wheels.
Canoe Bay
Cedar-Clad, From the Side
The tiny 400-square-foot structure, informed and inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie style, is clad in weather- and insect-resistant cedar. It's also highly energy efficient. The prototype, now on-site at Canoe Bay, uses perhaps 120 watts total, even with every LED in the house lit. In fact, the entire home could be solar-powered.
Canoe Bay
An Airy Living Space
Although it's the same size as the standard park model recreational vehicle (RV), ESCAPE doesn’t suffer from the claustrophobic interiors of the standard RV, thanks to an open plan and vaulted ceilings. The warm interior is finished in yellow pine throughout, with oak flooring.
Canoe Bay
Kitchen: Contained and Complete
"Everything is normal-sized, with high-quality elements,” says Dobrowolski. “It’s built for real people." The single-wall kitchen includes plenty of cabinets and drawer space along with a 30-inch range and standard-size refrigerator.
Canoe Bay
Bedroom: Luxury with a Light Touch
Built-ins help to keep the compact space uncluttered and efficient. The bedroom, outfitted with a huge armoire, adjoins the bathroom, which has pocket doors for privacy. The bathroom's double vanity is flanked by a walk-in shower on one end and a separate toilet enclosure on the other.
Canoe Bay
Bathroom: Practical Pampering
ESCAPE is a tiny structure that’s been deliberately built to feel spacious. The bath area features a generous-size walk-in tiled shower that defies the room's compact footprint. Recessed lighting, mirrors, and a glass partition separating the shower from the vanity make the space feel larger and more open.
Canoe Bay
Filled with Light
Large windows flood the space with abundant natural daylight and open the structure to exquisite woodland views. A glass-paned transom above the entrance to the screened porch—and the porch itself—add to the light and airy sense.
Canoe Bay
Screened Porch
A stripped-down model, sans screened porch, starts out at $79,000. Add the porch, a heated floor for the bath, and all the furnishings, and ESCAPE can top out at $124,000, window coverings included.
Canoe Bay
Front Exterior: Stylish Seclusion
Like a mobile home, ESCAPE requires the power of an over-the-road tractor to get it where it’s going. But once it's on-site, setup is essentially a “plug and play” process for plumbing, wiring, and the like.
Canoe Bay
For More...
If you would like to take more house tours, consider:
New Look (and Life) for a 1950s Cape
David Shatzman
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