Stories On Design // Sheds, Cabins & Retreats.

Today’s story is a real (re)treat for a number of reasons. Why, you ask? Because it brings together many concepts that ring true for me personally, and for many of you, I’m sure. Today we survey a whole bunch of inspiring little structures that enable us to escape the grind, celebrate the daily rituals, disconnect from the world in order to reconnect with ourselves… Spaces that promote sustainability for our minds and for our land, that provide simpler existence – sometimes in style, and always within a small footprint.

Although humble in stature, these mini-structures speak of the ultimate luxury – the luxury of stillness and more time, and rare pleasures of direct connection with nature. There is no denying the fact that the concept of a minimal, low-impact and isolated abodes is spreading across the planet like wildfire, speaking of our collective fast-paced-life-induced fatigue and a craving for cozy retreats tucked into the wilderness.

So without future ado, we give you 40 (yes, 40!) super cool sheds, cabins, cocoons, retreats and hide-outs, spanning functions such as tea-houses, mini-libraries, meditation pods, bungalows, riverboats, tree houses, star gazing observatories, camping shelters, one-person saunas, garden & forrest refuges – to name just a few.

You’re welcome, happy campers!

See More ‘Stories on Design’ Curated by Yellowtrace.

Photography © Adolf Bereuter.

Forest Refuge by Bernd Riegger Architektur // This forest shelter, known as the ‘Waldsetzkasten’ (‘Forest Display Case’) was designed to appear as an open shelving unit from the outside. On the inside, the ‘Waldsetzkasten’ features an enclosed room, in front of which there is an additional covered open-air shelter. The large window connects the protected internal space with the forest adventure playground.

Photography by Nelson Garrido.

Cabanas no Rio by Aires Mateus // Lisbon studio Aires Mateus used only reclaimed timber to construct this pair of waterfront cabins in Grândola, Portugal. Named Cabanas no Rio (‘Cabins on the River’), the two rustic structures offer a rural retreat for a pair of inhabitants. One hut contains a living area, with a simple counter that can be used for preparing food, while the other accommodates a bedroom with a small toilet and sheltered outdoor shower.

Photo © Bent René Synnevåg.

Squish Studio Tilting in Fogo Island by Saunders Architecture // Norwegian firm Saunders Architecture designed the ‘Squish Studio’, one of six commissioned artist studios along the coastline of Fogo Island in Newfoundland, Canada. Positioned within the eastern town of tilting, the 30 square meter building is perched upon the rocky terrain and supported with a system of stilts.

Photo © Flavio Pesamosca.

Camping Luca Vuerich by Giovanni Pesamosca Architetto // Italian architect Giovanni Pesamosca has designed this unusually-sited cabin at the crest of Foronon Buinz in the Julian Alps. The prefab modular wood structure, named in memory of the deceased climber Luca Vuerich, contains nine beds and is situated 2531 meters above sea level. It was built in only one day.

Photos © David Relan.

Hus1 by Torsten Ottesjo // Hus 1 is an inspiring micro-house designed and built by Torsten Ottesjö. With double curved surfaces, compact and efficient planning, the structure blends effortlessly into the surrounding nature.

Photo © Roman Mensing.

One Man Sauna by Modulorbeat // German architecture collective Modulorbeat stacked concrete components normally used for mine shafts to create a tower housing a tiny sauna on the outskirts of the city of Bochum.

Images © l’escaut architectures.

Atelier Pam & Jenny by l’escaut Architectures // A graphic designer asked for a working space in her own garden, which was the starting point for Atelier Pam & Jenny by l’escaut architectures. 2/3 of the workspace lies beneath ground level in the style of the Hobbit house.

Photography © Rasmus Norlander, courtesy of White Arkitekter.

Chameleon Cabin made from paper // Mattias Lind of Swedish firm White Arkitekter developed the Chameleon Cabin in collaboration with branding agency Happy F + B to demonstrate the capabilities of local printing firm Göteborgstryckeriet. This corrugated paper cabin is printed to resemble black marble on one side of the folds, and white marble on the other so it looks different from either side.

Detached Urban Hut in Athens by Dragonas Christopoulou // Elevated two meters above a typical greek high-rise, this proposed urban hut allows its occupants to contemplate the city from a different viewpoint. Designed by Panos Dragonas and Varvara Christopoulou, the cabin, which provides only nine square meters of floor space, has been conceived in response to mass globalisation and the world’s ever-increasing urbanisation.

Photo © Espen Folgerø.

Tubakuba Mountain Hub by OPA Form // A narrow wooden tunnel provides the entrance to this forest refuge built by students beside a mountain in Bergen, Norway. Tubakuba Mountain Hub is the result of a design-and-build workshop held by architect Espen Folgerø with students from the Bergen School of Architecture. According to Folgerø, the tube-like doorway was inspired by the shape of a brass instrument.

Photography by Arsi Ikäheimonen.

Glass House by Avanto Architects Kekkilä // This project is a collaboration between Helsinki architect Ville Hara of Avanto Architects and designer Linda Bergroth of Hel Yes! Isn’t it so profoundly powerful to see what can be achieved with a little bit of Finnish pine, safety glass and a prefabricated frame that can be assembled with a screwdriver? This is a wonderful example of a design which is focused around the function and user experience, and nothing else.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography © Bent René Synnevåg.

Bridge Studio Deep Bay in Fogo Island by Newfoundland Saunders Architecture // Designed by Saunders Architecture of Norway, Bridge Studio has an angled body that projects out towards a lake. The base of the building slopes at the same angle as the roof to create two tiered floors inside. On the upper tier is a built-in desk that faces a large window, while a wood-burning stove and small kitchen occupy the lower level.

Photo © Nigel Rigden.

Exbury Egg by PAD studio, SPUD Group & Stephen Turner // This temporary, energy efficient self-sustaining work space for artist Stephen Turner resides in the estuary of the River Beaulieu. The Egg is ‘tethered’ like a boat to rise and fall with the tide. The light touch and basic nature of the ‘Exbury Egg’ aims to re-appraise the way we live; to properly consider sustainably and future use of natural resources.

Image courtesy of Matt Glass & Jordan Wayne Long.

Recycled Window House by Nick Olson + Lilah Horwitz // In 2012, photographer Nick Olson and clothing designer Lilah Horwitz quit their day jobs and set off to build a unique woodland cabin so they could watch the sun set over the mountains of West Virginia. Small but beautifully crafted, the home’s main feature is a wall full of glass, made entirely out of repurposed windows and salvaged materials they had collected from garage sales and antique dealers in the area. The glass cabin, which they created for a total of about $500 on a property owned by Olson’s family, allows for plenty of natural light, reducing the need for artificial sources.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Observatoire by Atelier 56S // This 20 m2 pavilion was constructed in a protected natural area in Muttersholtz, Alsace. With a limited budget, the commission allowed to seek for a precise and careful architecture. The main focus was to create a building that could offer an experience of varied possibilities, using the least materials and formal recourses.

Photography © Paul Warchol

Scholars’ Library by GLUCK // A simple structure of platonic proportions delineates this tranquil retreat, Scholar’s Library’, designed by New York firm GLUCK+, is located in the catskill mountains near the firm’s tower house. Extruded above this mass, a floating plane creates a void for the upper level. Nestled into the forest, the scholar is surrounded by a living backdrop of seasonal changes.

Images courtesy of A1Architects.

Hat Teahouse by A1Architects // There is something intentionally quirky about a tiny hat-shaped teahouse in a backyard in Ostrava, a Czech city near the Polish border. Built to accommodate three for tea, the steep-roofed structure has a view of a charming garden and in the distance, of the less picturesque coal waste dumps on the outskirts of the city.

Photography © Shigeo Ogawa.

Light Shed by FT Architects // FT Architects designed this 33-square-metre studio, named Light Shed, for the back garden of a photographer’s house in Kanagawa, in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Sheets of translucent corrugated plastic reveal the timber framework, which also features an angular white roof.

Photo by Luís García.

Endémico Resguardo Silvestre by Gracia Studio // This hotel by Mexican architects Gracia Studio comprises 20 separate cabins dotted across the landscape in one of Mexico’s wine-making regions. Located in the Valle de Guadalupe, the single-storey huts are lifted off the ground on steel frames so that they impact as little as possible on the earth below.

Photo © Philip Vile.

Dovecote Studio by Haworth Tompkins // London architects Haworth Tompkins have inserted a Corten steel artist’s studio into a ruined Victorian dovecote in Suffolk, UK. Called The Dovecote Studio, the structure has a pitched rood and occupies the same space as the original building’s interior.

Image courtesy of Trees and People.

Dom’Up Treehouse by Trees and People // Dom’Up is an innovative treehouse that draws inspiration from tree camping and traditional treehouse structure designed by Dutch arboriculturist Bruno de Grunne and architect Nicolas d’Ursel from Trees and People. This suspended styled cabin draws inspiration from tree camping and traditional treehouse structures. The end result is a shelter that’s reported easy to install and leaves no trace or impact on its surrounding environment and trees.

Photo © Rob Brown.

Photo © Penny Clay.

Permanent Camping by Casey Brown Architecture // Located on a remote pristine mountain on a sheep station in central western NSW, sited at the edge of a ridge surrounded by large granite boulders and ancient dead trees, the tower has panoramic views for hundreds of miles to the horizon. Internally, the structure is beautifully crafted from recycled ironbark providing a sleeping loft and small kitchen with a wood fired slow combustion stove.

Photo © Fernando Guerra/ FG+SG.

Pedras Salgadas Eco-Resort by Luís Rebelo de Andrade & Diogo Aguiar // The new eco-resort of Parque de Pedras Salgadas, Portugal, consists of a set of seven small houses in perfect harmony with the surrounding outstanding nature. Designed in a modular prefabrication system but flexible to adapt to the specific places within the park, these houses result in several different combinations of the same three modules, creating different morphologies and different dialogues with the surrounding nature.

Photo Rocco Reukema.

Recreational Island House by Rocco Reukema, Remko Remijnse & 2by4 Architects // On an island in the lake of Loosdrecht this recreational house embraces the natural context of the environment and subtly blends in. It’s transparent facades create a visual tunnel effect; emphasising the island’s slim but long shape.

Photo by Leonardo Finotti.

Prefabricated Modular Home by MAPA // Architecture collective MAPA of Brazil and Uruguay has built a prefabricated modular home and transported it by a truck to a picturesque spot in the countryside outside Porto Alegre. The residential retreat comprises four modules, creating separate areas for sleeping, lounging, dining and bathing within a simple steel-framed structure.

Photography © Gaudenz Danuser.

Refugi Lieptgas by Georg Nickisch & Selina Walder // 
Refugi Lieptgas, designed by swiss practice Nickisch Sano Walder Architekten, is a modern recreation of a pre-existing agrarian vernacular. The architects recreated the cabin with concrete, freezing and preserving the original fingerprint. The outer walls are cast by using the original overlapping logs that made up the main structure of the cabin as the form work, thereby moulding a solid wall with similar characteristics to the timber but formed of the negative space. Although rendering the structure as a piece of modern architecture, many of the uses of the cabin were preserved.

Photo by Francesco Mattuzzi.

New Refuge Gervasutti by LEAPfactory // LEAPFactory’s New Refuge Gervasutti in Italy is an extraordinary solar-powered tubular mountain cabin that was installed on Mt. Blanc – by helicopters! This energy-efficient prefabricated pod was built out of high-quality materials that have zero impact on the sensitive environment in which it was placed. Since it is a temporary structure and fully recoverable, mountain climbers who brave the 3,000 m summit can use it to take shelter from the elements while at the same time respecting nature in all its glory.

Photo © Ben Blossom.

Forest Pond House by TDO Architecture // Located in rural Hampshire, this 6 m2 cabin is both a space for meditation and a children’s den in the woods. Cantilevering over the bank of a pond at the foot of a family garden, the timber frame structure is finished in plywood, glass and copper and was designed and built by TDO Architecture for a budget of £7,500.

Image © Robin Falck.

A Hut in the Woods by Nido // Located in the beautiful Finnish archipelago of Sipoo, lies ‘Nido’, a small cabin built by twenty-two year old Robin Falck. By only leaving the essentials and stripping away anything unnecessary to living in the woods, the young industrial design student, managed to maximize the living space. With the help of a local carpenter, Falck built the whole hut with his own hands and created a small two-story hut with a small lounge/living room at the bottom and bed as well as a small storage place on the top floor in only two and a half weeks time.

Photo © Jan Kudej.

Forest Retreat by Uhlik Architekti // Charred timber clads this woodland hideaway that Czech studio Uhlik Architekti has built on top of a large boulder within a forest clearing in central Bohemia. The cabin was designed as a retreat for a client looking for a quiet escape from his hectic city lifestyle in Prague.

Photo © Shinji Otani.

Noorderparkbar by Bureau SLA & Overtreders W // Amsterdam-based practices Bureau SLA & Overtreders W have collaborated to initiate, design and complete the ‘Noorderparkbar’, a coffee bar and local gathering space for residents in North Amsterdam. Entirely funded and constructed by members of the two firms, this bottom-up project sourced all the components to build the structure from approximately 100 individual traders found on a dutch market website similar to eBay. Although solely comprised of second-hand materials, the pavilion projects the appearance of a new construct.

The Hackney Shed by Office Sian Architecture // London-based studio Office Sian Architecture has designed this low budget garden working studio in Hackney. Oak framed full-height doors are completely retractable and allow for a clear view of the garden. A library, situated within the structural members, maximises the usable floor area, and a ‘hidden’ rooflight at the rear of the space playfully frames an unexpected glimpse of the sky.

Image courtesy of The Cloud Collective.

The Hermit Houses by The Cloud Collective // Providing a romantic and affordable retreat into nature these ‘Hermit hHouses – Model Abe’ designed by The Cloud Collective were named after the tragic lovers, Aberlard and Heloise. Customised and mass produced, the 14 m2 huts were originally developed to provide a welcomed escape from the hustle and bustle of the Oerol Theatre Festival, located on the island of Terschelling, The Netherlands. The unique concept allows for an easy installation, as these ‘out of the box’ buildings can be set up and constructed in only two days.

Photo © Mariko Reed.

Topanga Cabin by Mason St Peter // The story of this sweet woodland cabin started when young architect Mason St. Peter visited a friend at the beautiful Topanga Canyon in California. He instantly fell in love with the place but there were no cabins left to rent. So he decided to build his own Topanga Cabin using reclaimed wood and additional materials leftover from other cabins in the area. An inspiration for everyone who dreams about owning a beautiful, secluded retreat.

Photo © Barbora Kuklíková.

Garden Library by Mjölk Architekti // How beautiful is this reading retreat envisioned and implemented by Mjölk architekti in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic? The architects built an intriguing dwelling of timber and plywood, using the bookcase as a supporting “backbone”. The first level hosts the reading room and fireplace, while the second floor accommodates the sleeping areas. The most appealing asset of the entire Garden Library is probably its open roof, allowing guests here to use the building as an observatory.

Photos © Lindsay Appel.

Treehouse by Peter Bahouth // Architect Peter Bahouth built a series of houses in the trees connected by wooden bridges in Atlanta. Inspired by his love for nature and his childhood memories of boyhood treehouses, environmentalist Peter Bahouth created this grown-up fort in his Atlanta backyard. The three rooms of this treehouse have been named ‘Mind,’ ‘Body’ and ‘Spirit’ by its owner. A suspension bridge connects the living room to the bedroom that includes a platform bed which slides out for a better view of the tree canopy.

Photos © Jackie Meiring.

Whangapoua Sled House by Crosson Clarke Carnachan // This elegant holiday hut lies within the coastal erosion zone on Coromandel Peninsula, where all building must be removable. This is taken literally and the hut is designed to fit on two thick wooden sleds for movement up the site or across the beach and onto a barge. The holiday retreat is designed to close up against the elements when not in use, and measures a mere 40 square meters.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Images courtesy of Manuel Villa & Alberto Gonzalez Sepulveda.

Polyhedron Habitable by Manuel Villa & Alberto Gonzalez Sepulveda // Designed by Colombian architects Manuel Villa and Alberto González Sepúlveda, the structure consists of a wood frame configured into what the pair describe as a “truncated cubic-octahedron” – a series of octagonal panels connected by squares and aggregated in a sphere-like volume. The structure is wrapped in a layer of shingles stained black which lends it the appearance of a large dark orb.

Images courtesy of Studio 1984.

Nest by Studio 1984 // Designed by a group of young French architects from Studio 1984, the “Nest” is a compact home concept that is reminiscent of a traditional barn. The environmentally friendly architecture in France, incorporates a simple quadratic structure that has been built using pastoral materials such as straw and wood.