GRAPHĒ: This Clever Twist On an A-Frame Cabin? It Started in a Classroom

Students in a design-build program led by architect Peter Braithwaite envisioned the retreat—and then picked up power tools to help bring it to life.

Peter Braithwaite and his young family have long felt the pull of Terence Bay, a small fishing village just outside their hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia. They regularly visit property they own there, six acres of rocky, forested land overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and what Braithwaite describes as a "half-bog, half-pond." Until recently, however, the property only had structures for Braithwaite’s design-build firm, including a cabinetry workshop; there was nowhere for his family to stay overnight.

Architect Peter Braithwaite and students of a design-build program at Dalhousie University’s School of Architecture created an A-frame cabin on his family’s property in Terence Bay, Nova Scotia.

Photo: Ema Peter

Then an opportunity to add a retreat presented itself. A few years ago, Braithwaite, who’s also an adjunct professor at Dalhousie University’s School of Architecture in Halifax, was asked to lead a two-week design-build program called Free Lab where students sketch, model, design, and ultimately construct a small to mid-size project. At first, Braithwaite planned to create a communal boathouse with his students on nearby shared land, but after neighborhood pushback, he proposed a pivot. Why not use his own property instead?

From there, the idea evolved into an experimental A-frame residence that would serve as a second home for Braithwaite’s family and a laboratory for his students. Together, they set out to reimagine the traditional form in a contemporary way.