The Green River Preserve Anonymous

A home should serve as a transitional space between shelter and the outdoors. In all of the structures that I design, I try to include walls full of windows that will allow in natural light. These windows help to integrate elements of a cozy interior and the feeling of open space that comes from being outside. I first realized this principle at the Green River Preserve Camp in Brevard, North Carolina. It is the physical place that has most impacted me. Green River Preserve taught me the importance of natural simplification, a trait that I incorporate into my life and my designs.

Green River embodies a back-to-basics mentality. While staying there as a camper for three summers, I developed strong friendships with my cabin mates, as we all experienced the exhilaration of hiking and attending campfire meetings without the distractions of cellphones and computers. The twelve of us were situated in a cabin that was little more than 100-square-feet. That limited space encouraged us all the more to go out and enjoy the refreshing mountain air. I can still remember how much I loved waking up and seeing the silhouette of the Smoky Mountains in the dim sunlight of the window next to my bunk. Years afterward, I have come to realize that a...