Page 18 - ArchDC_Spring 2020

Project: Shenandoah Valley Cabin,
Strasburg, VA

Architect: Joanna Schmickel, AIA, Principal,
cox graae + spack architects
Structural Engineers: Linton Engineering
General Contractor: Houseworks, LLC

Diamond
Diamond

in the Rough
in the Rough Shenandoah Valley Cabin, with the

“gin and tonic deck” at left.
Finely Detailed Weekend Retreat All photos © Chris Ambridge, AIA

Reflects a Beautiful Simplicity

by Ronald O’Rourke
A gin and tonic is a refreshing drink for beating the east,” Schmickel said. “The view east takes in the
heat on a warm summer day pretty much anywhere winding North Fork of the Shenandoah River at the
you might be. But it might just taste a little better if you foot of the slope, a bucolic farm in the valley on the
enjoy it while lounging on the “gin and tonic deck” at opposite bank, and the Massanutten Mountains on the
the beautifully conceived small weekend cabin in the east side of the valley. Since we’re at the end of a ridge,
countryside that Joanna Schmickel, AIA, designed for it feels like we are on the prow of the land with
herself, her husband John Szczygiel, and their a 270-degree view.”
two dogs. The cabin’s modern design “borrows the recognizable
The project is located about 80 minutes west of form of simple hay structures seen on farms throughout
Washington. “The cabin sits on a rise in the Shenandoah the valley,” Schmickel said. Compactly designed, the
Valley between Great North Mountain of the Appalachian one-bedroom residence (with a den that can be converted
range to the west and Massanutten Mountain to the into a second bedroom with a Murphy bed) has only
16 DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH