Tiny but Mighty: Picalo Cabin by Gerard Dombroski Workshop.

After a few working bees around the Driving Creek Railway and Pottery, Wellington-based architect and furniture designer Gerard Dombroski was invited back to the site to construct ‘something’ that could contribute to the residence within a month. Seeing it as an opportunity to “test an idea and to take a risk”, Dombroski lovingly crafted the Picalo Cabin—a quaint residence that gently beckons seclusion, peace, and reverie for those who desire a creative getaway.

The brief from the clients required the design to be constructed out of found materials within the proximity of the site. Wasting no time, Dombroski spent his first day securing a location beneath the kanuka canopy. An abandoned steel frame that was once part of a zipline platform was reclaimed, for the architect saw potential in the metalwork becoming the footprint, circulation, and foundation for the would-be shelter.

Camouflaged in Nature: Gjemmested Fishing Hideout in Telemark, Norway.

Designed by Gartnerfuglen Arkitekter and Mariana de Delá, the mini-building has a secret location, away from all the small trails leading to the lake. The structure is only accessible by boat in summer and by skis in winter when the lake is frozen.

The overall construction is made entirely of materials sourced from buildings that no longer served their purpose. The process took a third of the working timeline, while the remainder was focused on construction into the late hours and creating connections with visiting artists and curious visitors who offered additional materials. Through these meaningful engagements, Picalo was constructed, resembling a classic corrugated metal shed framed by weather-worn steel frame while timber frames are used for the entrance and openings to warm the cold composition. From the front, the architecture sculpturally resembles the uprise slope of a skateboard ramp, an inspiration drawn from Dombroski’s early studies of skatebowls made during a photography study.

Prefab Off-grid Goals: Cabin ANNA by Caspar Schols.

The Garden House was Caspar Schol’s first taste of innovative and inclusive design. It quickly became celebrated around the world for its ability to rearrange layers for different occasions or weather conditions...

Inside, the micro-cabin is wide enough to snugly fit a single bed on one end and a desk on the other. Beneath the desk uncovers a secret door that allows visitors to sit on the concrete floor when using the desk, utilising the versatility of the found structure. Soft lighting cast by the openings creates a serene ambience heightened by aged ply panels in the colour resembling dark polished concrete. Thanks to the sloping rise of the form of the shed, a skylight is positioned directly above the bed for visitors to admire the tree canopies swaying with the wind—a characteristic that inspired Dombroski’s concept of a “room to view the trees” for the design.

Now part of a community that invites artists to reside in their own makeshift cabins to work, Picolo is a niche contribution to Driving Creek Railway. Nestled among the foliage and appreciating nature’s orchestra, sometimes Picolo doesn’t feel like a cabin, but instead offers qualities of a treehouse that has been playfully placed on the ground to appreciate nature at an alternative altitude.

In the Middle of Nowhere: Sarreyer Cabin by Rapin Saiz Architects.

With its stern, rough-cut log exterior, combined with a rusty stove pipe attached almost ad hoc to the side of the structure, this cabin looks anything but homely. But this less than charming effect was deliberately employed by the Swiss architect Rapin Saiz...

[Images courtesy of Gerard Dombroski Workshop. Photography by Samuel Hartnett.]