Rindle Cottage at Van Antwerp Park

Rindle Cottage was designed as the 2019 “Inspiration Home” showcase house for Mobile Bay Magazine. It takes its name from the “rindle” (small, intermittent stream) that it fronts as part of the neighborhood’s private arboretum. Van Antwerp Park is a 15-lot, low impact development located on a 50 ft hillside near the downtown area. As an inspiration home, it takes many of the expected features of a traditional home but elevates occupants into the surrounding tree tops.

In designing Rindle Cottage, we purposely stacked all of the program elements under a small roofscape to minimize both the footprint and the runoff. True to its vertical format, the Master Suite is located on the top floor, 35’ up into the trees. A guest bedroom/office is also on the top floor, all serviced by an upstairs galley. The main kitchen and living areas are located at the mid-level, accessed by by a sloped entry bridge. The lower level includes two small bedrooms connected by a shared bathroom. The three floors are accessed by a window-filled stair well and windowed elevator. To further immerse its residents into the wooded nature enveloping the home, the lower level includes an open porte-cochère that is envisioned to serve as an outdoor family room as well as a “he-shed” and “she-shed,” perfect for organizing gardening tools.