Economical and eco-friendly, a 725-square-foot prefab cabin is a cozy low-impact retreat in rural New Zealand.

Designed to sleep eight, the flexible cabin can be used as a quiet retreat for the couple or a gathering place for family and friends.

During a drive from Auckland to Wellington, Ainsley O’Connell and Barry Copeland spotted the perfect piece of land for a rural holiday cabin. Set high above the remote town of Taihape in the the middle of New Zealand’s North Island, the 1,000-square-foot plot was a former vegetable garden for the local market, sporting captivating views of the rural landscape and town lights below.

The AB Cabin is set in the middle of high country with Mount Ruapehu to the north and the Ruahine Ranges to the south. The building takes inspiration from the surrounding timber-framed houses and metal-clad farm buildings.

The AB Cabin is set in the middle of high country with Mount Ruapehu to the north and the Ruahine Ranges to the south. The building takes inspiration from the surrounding timber-framed houses and metal-clad farm buildings.

Read another article:Design Trends for Creating a Vacation Vibe at Home

Paul McCredies

The couple, both architects, camped on the site to immerse themselves in the “constantly changing light and atmospheric conditions” before designing the cabin—a process that involved the creation of over 20 models before they settled on the design of a tiny prefabricated cabin inspired by the local rural vernacular.  

Set on a southeast-facing slope, the AB Cabin is fitted with double-glazed windows that frame views of the town of Taihape and rolling hills beyond.

Set on a southeast-facing slope, the AB Cabin is fitted with double-glazed windows that frame views of the town of Taihape and rolling hills beyond.

Read another article:Hot Trends: 20 Best Farmhouse Style Kitchens in White and Wood

Paul McCredies

“One of the biggest challenges was the distance from Auckland,” notes Copeland of the five-hour journey. “We decided to design a prefabricated building to reduce the build time and thus make the process easier to control from a distance.”

With the help of local builder Daniel Crimp and his team, the couple also used the project as an opportunity to experiment with cross-laminated timber panels for the first time.

Concrete blocks lead up to an elevated timber deck with a sliding aluminum entrance door.
Read another article:Revamped Small Barcelona Apartment Combines Multiple Styles and Finishes

Concrete blocks lead up to an elevated timber deck with a sliding aluminum entrance door.

Paul McCredies

See the full story on Dwell.com: A Compact Prefab Cabin Draws In Spectacular Valley Views
Related stories:

  • 6 Northern California Prefab Homes With Verdant Forest Vibes
  • Now You Can Spend the Night in Hygge Supply’s New, Ultra-Modern Kit Home
  • Muji Just Unveiled a New Prefab Home—and it’s a Minimalist Dream Come True

Similar Posts

so-house

SO House

REVEALING THE EVIDENCE Confrontation with the reality of these ruins was always a confrontation seeped in memories. Memories
of a place where the raw matter it is constituted of – the rock, the valley and the mountain – shows evident expression, provoking a game of fine balance between place, matter, light and shadow. We found light that dripped down the stone walls defining spaces separated only by rows of stacked rock. In each fissure, in each wrinkle, a soft balance between light and shadow. Standing before this scenery, the exercise consisted in finding the most natural way to connect ruins and spaces, simultaneously defining future possibilities for links between the interior and the exterior. Where decisions were concerned, we chose to rehabilitate pre-existing volumes and introduce a new connecting element. The answer is given by the almost immediate decision to join together the pre-existing elements. This
gesture, deeply connected to the terrain along the pendente – connects the two sections facing west,
forming an exterior courtyard adorned with a centenary olive tree. This project builds a space that runs through the ruins, uniting them and revealing the obvious functional relationship between the house’s programmatic areas, simultaneously differentiating the possibilities for inhabiting the exterior space. It expresses its temporality through the antagonism of matter in its relationship with pre-existing elements.