This uncomplicated wooden cabin with its raw form and finishes, sits effortlessly in its natural surroundings. It protects the occupants from the elements and hides a surprisingly warm interior. The holiday cabin is built as a hideout for all seasons while enjoying the outdoors.

Untreated Siberian larch cladding is combined with charred larch in feature areas, cutting into the main volume.

Bi-fold screens corner off the entry area when the house is unoccupied, but can be transformed into a lockable storage area or a carport.

After entering the cabin the framed views direct the attention to the outdoors:  Mt. Ruapehu on one side, Mt. Taranaki on a clear day, trees and open fields on the other sides. The simple rectangular floor plan divides the cabin into private and social spheres. The shape invites light into the house; this warms the concrete floor and walls that act as a heat conductor. Roof overhangs and sliding doors protect from the harsh winds and temperature shifts, common in Alpine areas. During warmer times of the year the cabin opens up and interacts with the outdoors.

The cabin as been built as an experiment: to find out if heat can be retained and then slowly released by optimizing orientation, materials, insulation and applying specific membranes and heated only by the sun. The concrete spine centers the house and creates an effective thermal mass. The excess heat from the wetback fireplace can be pumped into the pipes in the concrete to store the heat and slowly release it over time. The cabin is designed to get as much sun in as possible (to heat the concrete) in winter and keep the wind out in summer, while still opening up to the outdoors. The decks on 3 different sides of the house give you the opportunity to always find cover or shelter or sun.

The 363m² section that comes with a 1.5m height restriction on almost a third of the section, which leaves very little room for outdoor (wet) ski-gear and bike storage and a carport. The bi-fold screens (on wheels) can easily transform the covered entry area into a carport or storage shed at any time.

The cabin seems to be a non-stop dialogue between interior and exterior, it wants to be open and (en)closed, warm and cool at the same time.

The exterior cladding is Siberian larch, known for its durable qualities, combined with charred Siberian larch. The charring is an ancient Japanese technique called Shou-sugi-ban that gives the wood a natural protection and adds texture and colour.

Using larch on the ceiling and soffits as well as on feature walls in the interior supports the indoor / outdoor flow of the cabin. The timber in the interior combined with the warm colours on the walls is used to balance out the ‘coolness’ of the concrete.