River Forest Lookout was built in 2023, designed and constructed by Mark Derenthal as the perfect getaway in nature. Built from galvanised steel set into a concrete plinth on the forest floor, the watchtower has enjoyed a healthy career as an Airbnb but is now looking for a new owner.
The accommodation is located in two modified shipping containers set 60ft up, atop a custom steel stair tower – the attached winch is most definitely not designed for pets, let alone people.
Consisting of a kitchen, living and sleeping area with a modest balcony, alongside a full bathroom, it’s a tight 300 sq ft space that is mitigated by the panoramic 360-degree treetop views across the Chattahoochee National Forest to the Cohutta Mountains. Warning: things get insanely photogenic in fall.
River Forest Lookout, Georgia
The site itself winds across 14 acres of forest and includes around 3,000ft of private frontage onto the Jacks River. This is fishing territory (trout), and there are waterfalls and swimming holes to discover as well. The structure made extensive use of prefabricated industrial components.
Derenthal, who collaborated on the project with the structural engineer Bill Seeber, not only re-used shipping containers but adapted a tower crane mast for the support structure. Derenthal did much of the construction work himself, creating a project that is low maintenance, fire resistant and self-sufficient.
Atop the tower, reached by a spiral staircase set between the two shipping containers, the Forest Lookout offers a rooftop terrace complete with firepit. It sits between the solar array, which works alongside propane heaters to create a totally off-grid living space.
The property, which is being sold through Mountain Sotheby’s International Realty, is offered as a fully furnished, totally turnkey operation, a nod to its current role as a popular Airbnb destination. The site also has permission and utilities in place for a second structure, should the new owner want to expand the hospitality concept.
The River Forest Lookout from below
The River Forest Lookout splices the technological transfer beloved of High-Tech architecture with a very specifically American picturesque, one that frames the individual within the wilderness in an elaborate and dramatic way. By eschewing a more austere architectural approach in favour of gutsy, durable post-industrial architecture, the lookout is a fortress of solitude that offers the ultimate escape from the day-to-day.
For sale via Mountain Sotheby’s International Realty, priced at $1,200,000, SothebysRealty.com, @mountain.sir