prequel: AN ORIGIN STORY

JANUARY 2024, ISSUE 1

“….. imagine a dinky house sprouting out of a small site on the Little River.” 

– Darryl Bird, Architect (and half of a client)

My wife and I were traveling back to Huntsville from a visit in Charleston when, out of the blue, she posed a hypothetical question. I try very hard to avoid these kinds of questions, but there was not getting out of this one, since I was stuck in the driver’s seat. She said, “What would you do if you had a million dollars?” I tried to explain that it really didn’t matter, since I did not have a million dollars…and neither did she. It didn’t work. I needed an actual answer…..so I racked my brain.

Over the years I have developed a passion for fly fishing. It’s about the fish, but it’s also not about the fish. Trout are discriminating creatures and they live in only the most scenic of places. The beautiful rivers and streams they inhabit are often remote, but I like that. I enjoy the journey. Then there’s the fishing. Fly fishing forces one to slow down, decompress, and focus on the cadence of casting. This is a welcome respite from the rigors of my profession, architecture. And, of course there is the occasional thrill of the catch. Trout were the only fish I had chased, with one exception – the redeye bass. These colorful little fish, like trout, thrive in beautiful rivers and streams. Unlike trout, however, these fish are primarily found in Alabama. These fish were on my mind as we were traveling along Lookout Mountain and nearing the Little River – the only US river that runs its full length atop a mountain. It is was in this river, specifically in DeSoto State Park and later in the Little River Canyon, that I managed to wrangle in a couple of five or six inch redeye bass!

“I’d build a fishing cabin on the Little River,” I finally replied. She smiled, paused for a moment, then said, ”We can do that.” Surprised, it was my turn to pause. We then began to unpack what had just taken place. Was she serious? Was I serious? Before we knew it we were in Fort Payne. There, we pulled off at “The Spot”, a local coffee shop. The discussion started to flesh out. At the counter we picked up a copy of the Groundhog, the “paper” of nearby Mentone, and started looking for river lots. By then, we could imagine a dinky house sprouting out of a small site on the Little River. To make a long story short, I never received a million dollars, but Susan still figured out a way for us to journey from imagination to reality, all in about eighteen months.

The small fishing cabin, which we affectionately call the dinky House, is now complete…..mostly. We are at the point of wrapping up the construction punchlist while also furnishing and accessorizing it. Periodically, during the process of design and construction, I thought about how this project would be a good case study to explore on my We Shape Space blog. I now feel increased empathy for my clients who are at the beginning stages of the process. Even though, as an architect, I have been through this process many times, it is somehow different when you are also the client (or half of the client). It is truly a roller coaster ride, both thrilling and exhausting. I’m looking forward to sharing my insights and perspectives through this blog. Over the next few months I’ll discuss the various phases of design (schematic design, design development, construction documents, and procurement), as well as the various phases of construction (from coming out of the ground to the final punch list). Hopefully I can offer some unique insights and make the journey less daunting for those who get on the roller coaster. It is my intention to put out a new blog post near the end of each month. I’m already thinking about the next post of the dinky Chronicles in February: Predesign – In Plain Site.

BONUS Material:

The name “dinky House” has a dual meaning. One, obviously, is that it is a small house. At less than 1200 SF it is larger than a “tiny house” but less than half the size of the average American home in 2023. The less obvious meaning is a bit harder to explain. There is a flat strip bisecting the site, through which a narrow gauge railroad ran, just after the turn of the twentieth century. The train hauled coal along the Little River, crossing it a few hundred feet away from what is now our site, and eventually delivering it in nearby Georgia. The locals affectionately dubbed it “the dinky line”. A house looking over the dinky line would logically be a dinky house, wouldn’t it?

a “dinky” railroad carrying coal