Inspired by the Barbara Cooney illustrations in "Miss Rumphius," a children's book he read to his daughters, Bruno Schickel designed and built Boiceville Cottages beginning in 1996. Bruno utilized his experience with Schickel Construction, a company he founded in 1985 and continues to run, to design an interior that was complementary to the charming illustrations of seaside cottages that inspired the exterior shape of the Boiceville Cottages. SUSTAINABLE LIVING
Bruno designed a compact but liveable blueprint in order to create a more minimal and sustainable living space. Bruno also incorporated modern elements into the cottages to give the community fresh and youthful storybook charm while still using natural materials to create a cottage community that is design-centric but also efficent and sustainable to renters. The cottages are staged in a pinwheel trio to afford residents privacy while still providing a sense of neighborhood that is essential for the community. Bruno built the Meeting House in 2012 to serve as the community's common space where residents can gather, cook, exercise, and host events. UNIVERSAL DESIGN
A creative design outlet for Bruno, Boiceville Cottages provides an opportunity to embrace the bright, dramatic colors Bruno loves, but also to design intricate details that make the cottages particularly unique, such as cooper windowtops, striped exteriors, curved roofs, and gingerbread roof detailing. The effect is whimiscal meets rustic countryside, an intersection of playful and practical. The cottages are built with accessibility in mind and suitable for all ages. Entrances to the cottages are flat-leveled and wheelchair accessible. BUILDING A COMMUNITY
Schickel Construction Company has built 140 cottages, making Boiceville both a fun and colorful community. If the mood strikes, you can view the construction process on Instagram (http://instagram.com/boiceville_cottages) - from the newly built frames to the completed, freshly painted cottages. Read more about Bruno in this New York Times article (http://goo.gl/QSH9tw).
