09/18/2026
We’re neither anti-technology nor particularly nostalgic, but throughout the design process with Riley Triggs, we’ve been looking at simple practices from camping, gardening, and farming that might be applied to permanent architecture.
This isn’t groundbreaking. It isn’t a “right” way of designing, and it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to accessibility and aging in place. It’s simply an exercise in discovering our own thresholds for comfort and effort. We looked for ways to incorporate things so basic they felt almost like a child building a fort, especially when they might make us more aware of the seasons, our water use, etc.
We studied simple, functional dwellings from around the world while also considering local practices and materials.
It is funny that we live in an era when something as mundane as shutting a barn door by hand before a storm can be considered a way of reconnecting with the environment. In most places and throughout most of history, that would be a silly notion. But after coming from a fast-paced, hyper-convenient city, those small required tasks add up. They make our daily life feel more attentive, physical, and grounded in the place where we live and so we wanted to lean into them. (and the garden beds are in progress!)
That attention to everyday rituals has shaped the first spaces at La Cuna. As we turn to the next studios and cabins, we’re exploring a different set of questions: how spaces can offer privacy, rest, and comfort without losing their connection to the landscape.
