Meditation Hut II "Le Cadeau"

Meditation Hut II “Le Cadeau”

Urbana, Illinois

The hut is located in back corner of a residential garden, nestled in a mature landscape. For the designer-owner-builder, the experience of its creation was a retreat both from work and into work - the hands-on construction process in itself was cathartic.

Much like a wrapped gift, a single material - white cedar shingles - cover the entire exposed exterior surface. The hand cut shingles were layered and detailed to create a simple archetypal house shape - like a child's first attempt to represent a dwelling in drawing form. The shingles are left to weather to silver gray.

The interior is unadorned, except for three tatami mats that rest on the black stained structural base. Reflective white walls hover above this base to create an environment of simplicity and lightness. Small windows were placed throughout the surface to cross-ventilate and to frame specific views. A casement window in the lower southwest corner frames colorful plants; an even smaller window cut into the door frames the head of a Buddha sculpture that greets visitors along the approach path. The surrounding trees filter restrained light into the space throughout the day. The freestanding, floating structure softly resonates with the songs of birds from adjacent trees.