The project: Le Cabanon
Architects: Rick Joy Architects
Location: Turks and Caicos Islands
space: 3,150 SF
photos by: Joe Fletcher
Le Cabannon by Rick Joy Architects
Le Cabanon project is a family retreat designed by Rick Joy Architects. This beautiful contemporary structure blends seamlessly with its coastal setting on an island off the southwest coast of Providenciales. Its design is simple, with a porch connecting the private living areas to a living, dining, and kitchen suite, and a pool bringing ocean waters closer to the living spaces.
Off the southwest coast of Providenciales, an island in the Turks and Caicos archipelago, Rick Joy Architects designed a family retreat whose privacy and tranquility are punctuated by coastal breezes and long tropical sunshine. Approaching from the adjacent road, the multi-part complex appears to grow organically from the site’s natural shoreline, its eggshell concrete contrasting with the bright turquoise water in much the same way as the white sand lining the shallow inlet. Taking visual cues from the lush surroundings, which also include iron beach rocks and verdant indigenous plants, the architects produced tactile connections between the building and its site: mahogany doors, windows, and roofs capture the warmth of the surroundings, while delicately placed small openings allow just the right doses of greenery. inside.
The plan of the house is deceptively simple: the oversized porch acts as a link between the private living areas to the west and the kitchen-living-dining wing to the east. This first volume, a long, skinny bar, shields the rest of the house from the noise and traffic of the adjacent street. The strategy works—from the inside, the spaces feel secluded and protected, and the ocean views from the kitchen suite feel utterly exclusive. This space sits quietly against the water, not quite indoors and not quite outdoors. Its asymmetric, single-hip roof captures a spacious interior, and a single operable triangular window at the leeward tip creates gentle airflow, complementing the deliberately designed cross breezes that eliminate the need for air conditioning. Just outside, a shallow pool cuts a line between the sand and the adjacent porch, bringing the expanse of ocean water closer to the living spaces.
The whole house is full of immersive moments like this one. From the walkways, concrete walls create shallow viewing angles that reveal glimpses of each subsequent space and frame the sky at the same time. Built by local builders who were trained by the construction team, the walls use locally sourced sand and rubble, reducing the need to import building materials. In the same resource-conscious spirit, the architects placed a large cistern below the main terrace to collect water and topped the flat portions of the roof with photovoltaic panels.
In the bedrooms, pendant lights hang like flower buds from the ceiling and tall fronds peek out from neighboring rock-bottomed gardens. Natural linen curtains flow in the ocean breeze and let in just the right amount of sunlight. Sometimes, fishermen stop by at Ipé docks, offering up the catch of the day. The result is a home that appears to bloom out of its location.
– Rick Joy Architects
