Rabbit Snare Gorge Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Rabbit Snare Gorge Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia

Lawrence MacIsaac recalls stories of his great grandfather using the property to teach his sons how to snare rabbits, while his great grandmother used commonly used the ‘laundry stone’ at the bottom of a small waterfall to wash clothing. With the extremely steep sides of the gorge it was difficult to do anything with the land, including harvesting the trees, so it was left to grow wild.

The cabin at Rabbit Snare Gorge is the first of three small creature-like structures hidden in the mysterious landscape.

The cabin is the primary dwelling on a 46 acre parcel of land found on the rugged wooded coastline of rural Cape Breton. The cabin is a gently adapted gabled tower which allows it to reach above the forest canopy with two major viewing platforms, one oriented directly towards the ocean and the other along the length of the convergent brook valley.

The landscape of Rabbit Snare Gorge is defined by the steep slopes of the Cape Breton Highlands, a dense woodlands with patches of Acadian hardwood, deep gorges cut by a babbling brook, and the rocky cliffs of the Northumberland Strait. The location allows for a long wide view of the entire property including the majority of the gorge leading towards the ocean. The procession through the cabin starts with the entry and bedrooms on the ground floor, a double height kitchen and dining room on the second floor and lastly the living space on the third floor with the final lookout view of the entire property.

The structure is linked to the local vernacular by a number of formal elements. The traditional gable form of the cabin is manipulated to open views and follow the path of the sun, emphasize the major interior spaces, and accentuate the verticality of the tower, while efficiently shedding snow and rain. Traditional, local wood board cladding is used on the exterior of the Cabin. The cabin’s steel entry hoop takes shape from the entry windbreaks which are unique to Cape Breton and Newfoundland coastal communities.

Light on the land, heavy against the wind

The client is an avid outdoorsman and hobby arborist with a sincere respect for the natural landscape.  Therefore, sensitivity to site and ecological disruption was an early and major design parameter. The tower typology of the cabin offers elevated views and ample programming within a minimal footprint.  The exposure of the sloped site means it endures the full brunt of heavy Atlantic rainstorms, winter Nor’easters, corrosive salt-spray from crashing swell, and strong suetes winds—local south-easterlies which accelerate down the Highland escarpment to reach speeds of over 200km/h.

The strong local suetes winds demand robust structural systems to withstand major lateral loads and uplift. The tall cabin combats the high winds through redundant sheathing—every solid plane, including the interior partition wall, contribute as shear walls, diaphragms and stacked compression rings.  The windbreak, constructed out of welded weathering steel, is then hung from the framing.

Architecture Team
Omar Gandhi Architect Inc. in collaboration with Design Base 8; Omar Gandhi (Principal), Peter Braithwaite (Intern Architect), Peter Kolodziej (Intern Architect), Maxwell Schnutgen (Intern Architect), Elizabeth Powell (Intern Architect), Jeff Shaw (Intern Architect)

Design Team
Design Base 8 in collaboration with Omar Gandhi Architect Inc.; Garrett Helm, Jon Siani, Jon Wilson

Consulting Team
Design Base 8, Omar Gandhi Architect Inc, Andrea Doncaster Engineering, Joseph ‘MacGee’ MacFarlane

Photography
Doublespace Photography