Nominn Cabin

Nominn Cabin is a 1,400-square-foot lakeside retreat in northern Minnesota—three-sided glass, wood, and galvanized steel—designed to disappear into the trees and slow life to the pace of water and light.

Nominn Cabin

Nominn Cabin is a 1,400-square-foot lakeside retreat in northern Minnesota—three-sided glass, wood, and galvanized steel—designed to disappear into the trees and slow life to the pace of water and light.

Nominn Cabin

Nominn Cabin is a 1,400-square-foot lakeside retreat in northern Minnesota—three-sided glass, wood, and galvanized steel—designed to disappear into the trees and slow life to the pace of water and light.

Immersion without exposure — glass, shelter, and the pace of the lake.

Tucked into the north woods, Nominn Cabin is conceived as “the ultimate retreat to nature.” Three walls of glass face a remote lake, placing guests inside the landscape while the building quietly does its work—blocking weather, framing light, and keeping the focus on what’s outside. The idea is simple: let the forest and water lead. Views are long and low; circulation is effortless; thresholds are soft. You’re enveloped by the site, not removed from it—present, unhurried, and protected.

Year _2023
Location _Akley, Minnesota
Renderings _NOMINN

Akley

Crow Wing — rivers, pines, and layered histories.

The Crow Wing region has long been a meeting place—Ojibwe and Dakota homelands shaped by rivers, trade routes, and early settlements along the Mississippi and the Crow Wing. A 19th-century trading post grew into the village of Crow Wing before Brainerd drew the county seat, leaving Old Crow Wing to the pines and the river bends now held within Crow Wing State Park. Nominn Cabin takes its cues from that continuum—low-profile, weather-ready, and oriented to water and woods—so the landscape carries the story and the building keeps the beat.

Quiet materials, lighter touch — Nordic restraint in wood and steel.

The architecture aims to melt away. A calm palette—warm wood and galvanized steel—keeps the form grounded and durable without competing with the setting. Lines are clean, details are spare, and the exterior sits lightly so the cabin reads as part of the shoreline, not a statement against it. With a small footprint and disciplined massing, impact stays low while experience stays high. It’s restraint as a design tool—less outline, more atmosphere.

Comfort as calm — vaulted space, fire, and a spa under the sky.

Inside, a single-story plan opens under vaulted ceilings up to twenty feet, gathering kitchen, dining, and lounge around a gas fireplace. A king bed anchors the retreat; materials remain tactile and warm. The bath is spa-like by intent: a custom shower and a deep soaking tub set beneath a skylight, where steam and sky meet. The goal isn’t luxury as spectacle—it’s restoration through light, heat, and quiet.

Renderings