Tag Archives: Black Cabins

This prefabricated modern cabin is clad in black and hidden in plain sight on Colonia’s coast

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Nestled in the coastal woods of Colonia, Casa ZGZ is a prefabricated, single-story cabin that’s clad in black to hide the modern home in plain sight.

Montevideo-based architecture firm iHouse constructs prefabricated homes using the latest dry construction methods currently trending on the international stage. With only 70 days to build a home for Conrado, an Uruguayan living in London, on his family’s property in Colonia, iHouse was well-equipped to take on the project. Formed by the merging of two modules, Casa ZGZ was constructed offsite and then installed on the family’s property in just five days.

Designer: iHouse

As Colonia is one of Uruguay’s oldest towns, the team behind Casa ZGZ hoped to maintain the spirit of the region’s historical architecture while contemporizing the cabin to accommodate modern needs. The single-level residence is clad in black in an effort to present hide the home in plain sight amongst the many elements of nature that surround it. The black exterior also warms up the home’s wooden interior, which is paneled with wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Speaking to this, the firm’s cofounders Marcelo Mederos and Andres Garcia explain, “The commission was to generate a rest home, cozy as are the small typical wooden cabins of the hemisphere where it resides, but in a contemporary enclave that can also withstand the vertiginousness of modern life and contemplate all the comforts of it, as well as rational use of resources trying to minimize the environmental impact.”

Minimizing the home’s impact on the region’s environment and land, Casa ZGZ was constructed offsite in two modules. Joined together by their longest side, one module houses the home’s wet services, including the bathrooms and kitchen. Then, the other module hosts the bedrooms and common spaces, like the dining area and living room.

Designed as an artificial structure that “coexists in harmony with a space alien to its language,” it was important for the architects to equip the home in close proximity to the nature that surrounds it. Comprising only one floor, Casa ZGZ finds space and height through an open floor layout and floor-to-ceiling window facades. Describing the creative choice for window facades, the cofounders explain, “The fully glazed main facade with a large gallery allows the total opening of each of the areas of the house, thus virtually expanding its area towards nature.”

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This black timber cabin takes cues from traditional building methods to create a coastal family retreat!

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Le Refuge KE01 is a black timber cabin near the coastline of Keremma, France, built by Gayet Roger Architects to function as the firm’s co-founders’ family vacation home.

Somewhere in Keremma, France, just beyond the sea and behind a thicket of cypresses, a small sanctuary rises above the ground for a small family to find some respite. Designed to be the ultimate retreat for relaxation and rest, Le Refuge KE01 is a small black timber cabin with warm interiors by Gayet Roger Architects.

Designer: Gayet Roger Architects

Spearheaded by the firm’s co-founders, Anne and Aldric Gayet, the project was initially conceived to be an idyllic vacation home for the architects’ family. Measuring 850-square-feet, the black timber cabin was built in harmony with the surrounding landscape to brace weather conditions of all kinds.

Prone the flooding, the coastline of Keremma can be a tricky spot to build a home. Working with the natural topography, Le Refuge KE01’s final form is an asymmetrical cabin that’s positioned atop a raised platform that’s supported by four-foot-tall metal stilts. Rising to meet the height of the platform, a spacious, wraparound deck provides some lounge area on days when the weather permits.

Complementing the environment’s many cypress trees, Anne and Aldric turned to black Falun-style paint to coat the home’s exterior, which is clad in cross-laminated timber. Common throughout parts of Scandinavia, the Swedish pigment is used on cottages and cabins that have been in the area for centuries. Then, the home’s interior exudes a nest-like quality with warm, unfinished spruce cladding that inspired the architects to keep the interior design to a minimum.

Featuring only the essentials, the main personality of Le Refuge KE01 is found in its multiple floor-to-ceiling windows and bespoke furniture pieces. Built-in benches line the living areas throughout the home, while dining tables, shelving, and counters are also built into their respective rooms. Framing the integrated benches and storage spaces, windows of varying sizes punctuate each room, offering unfettered views of the untouched coastline just a few steps away.

Unfinished spruce class the interior of Le Refuge KE01.

Leaving the home to its bare essentials made room for sunlight to drench every corner. 

Inside, the home has a nest-like quality with warm spruce lining the walls. Outside, the black timber cloaks the cabin in mystery.

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This prefab cabin located in the snowy slopes of Sweden is a family’s winter home!

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Villa Timmerman is a blackened timber cabin located in Sweden, designed by husband and wife duo Andreas Lyckefors and Josefine Wikholm.

Sweden-based architecture studio Bornstein Lyckefors recently finished work on an intricate winter getaway situated in the picturesque suburbs of Askim in Sweden’s Gothenburg Municipality. Devised and constructed by Bornstein Lyckefors founders and husband and wife team, Andreas Lyckefors and Josefine Wikholm, Villa Timmerman is a cozy winter prefabricated cabin, ideal for those winter months when you want to immerse your every sense in all the season has to offer.

Designer: Bornstein Lyckefors

Askin is known as a commercial fishing hub, so it makes sense that Villa Timmerman’s location was chosen so that it would overlook the sea below. Located on the southeast side of a gradual slope, Villa Timmerman perches above snow-covered valleys as a semi-detached house that functions as the couple’s family base.

Defined by windows covered by over crossed grilles that form the shapes of diamonds and vertical beams, Villa Timmerman draws in ample sunlight from each side to create beautiful lattice shadows inside. The architects also note that “The grid was an experiment that proved to work well as extra protection against solar radiation on the façade and as a protective layer against the drifting rain on the west coast.”

The villa’s location was in fact chosen so that sun would enter the house from at least one side at all hours of the day so that extra protection was necessary. Explaining this further, the architects at Bornstein Lyckefors describe,

“It was a challenge to create a semi-detached house with equal qualities at both ends, as they naturally face different directions. We had to study the local conditions carefully and take into account weather, views, sun, evening sun, contact with the street and neighbors. In the end, the house could be arranged so that both parts of the house get morning, noon, and evening sun. There is always sun on one terrace or balcony during the bright part of the day.”

Achieved through a process called wood tarring, the villa’s blackened timber exterior complements the home’s interior, which is characterized by bright, natural wood walls. Inside, accents of veneers and ash elements give the staircase and furniture pieces some personality.

The brightening quality of the home’s interior is amplified by the open-plan layout and expansive windows that flow from the home’s floor to its double-height ceiling. Dissolving the barrier between the outdoors and the home’s warm interior, the villa, and its windows were specifically configured to maximize the amount of sunlight to enter the home during the day.

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This tiny black cabin is built from felled oak trees acquired from a home’s construction waste!

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Studio Padron designed and built a tiny cabin entirely from mature felled oak trees acquired from another home’s construction waste.

As the old saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” When it comes to home construction, waste produced during the building process opens the door for more opportunities. While many home builders and architects plan homes around the site’s preexisting trees and landscape, sometimes felling trees can’t be avoided. After finishing work on a new home, Studio Padron, a US-based architecture firm, utilized the felled trees collected during the home’s construction and built a tiny black cabin to function as the home’s standalone library.

Calling the bookworm’s oasis Hemmelig Room, or ‘secret room’ in Norwegian, Studio Padron built the entire tiny cabin from disused mature oak trees that were felled during the main home’s construction. From the outside, Hemmelig Room finds a geometric structure clad in blackened timber. Following the main home’s construction process, the felled oak trees were cut into large, rectangular log sections that were left to dry over several years before building Hemmelig Room.

Inside, the blackened timber reveals the oak tree’s raw, polished form. From top to bottom, Studio Padron outfitted Hemmelig Room’s interior in nonuniform timber panels that merge with cavities to create bookshelves. Besides that, floor-to-ceiling windows bring the quiet space closer to the outdoor landscape. Equipped with a wood-burning stove to keep the space warm year-round, guests can enjoy enough space for a bed, armchair, and writing desk.

Designer: Studio Padron

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This oddly-shaped Finnish cabin was made with cross-laminated timber to withstand subarctic cold!

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This cabin in the woods is an otherworldly, all-black, geometric structure built to provide cozy refuge even in harsh Finnish winters. It was designed for a California-based CEO who returned home to Finland with her family to be closer to her ancestral land so she could maintain it. The cabin is aptly named Meteorite based on its unique shape and is set in a clearing surrounded by spruce and birch trees. The cabin is made entirely from cross-laminated timber (CLT) which is a sustainable alternative to other construction materials.

The three-story home is built entirely from 272 prefabricated panels of cross-laminated, locally sourced timber—a sustainable material that lends itself to digital design methods and follows the Finnish tradition of timber construction. Air gaps of various sizes behind the facade keep the interior warm without conventional insulation, even during Finland’s freezing winters, and give the Meteorite its out-of-this-world shape.

Inspired by the Ice Age rock formations found throughout the region, the Meteorite is a faceted dwelling designed by Kivi and Tuuli Sotamaa, the brother-and-sister duo behind Ateljé Sotamaa. They designed the faceted structure as a guest house for the family, although during the pandemic it has served also as an office for, a recording studio, and an after-school playroom for children.

The Meteorite’s black-tinted exterior provides a stark contrast to the warm, all-wood interior. “Everything on the outside is designed to dramatically stage the inside,” says Kivi. “It’s a mysterious object, and you don’t quite know what is going on within.” Part of the mystique lies in the deceptive nature of its size—the interior spans only 807 square feet of floor space, yet its total volume is 10,594 cubic feet.

Its envelope contains no plastic or insulation; it’s simply two sheets of wood, and the air gap in between them helps to regulate indoor temperature even when the subarctic climate outside drops to single digits in winter. The “between space,” as Ulla describes it, also hides storage and the building’s technical systems, preserving the minimalist feel of the interior.

The Meteorite’s interior is clad in spruce from floor to ceiling, and all the furniture for the living areas were hand-selected works by Finnish designers that the couple picked out themselves. The dining area features a built-in corner sofa designed by Ateljé Sotamaa with slipcovers and pillows by Klaus Haapaniemi & Co – a local artistic brand with works inspired by traditional Finnish folklore.

The Meteorite was originally envisioned as a guesthouse, but with the pandemic keeping them at home, it now serves as a more permanent, multipurpose space for the family. The traditional separation of work and home has disappeared, and it’s beautiful that they are merged within this single building.

My favorite part of the home – and I’m sure also the kids’ – is the giant net on the top floor. It ties the home together visually while adding connectivity without having to be in the same space. It is also extremely well light thanks to the multiple windows and skylights that are placed on unconventional angles because of the unique shape of the cabin.

The warm wooden interior complements the black timber exterior very well. The cabin is a beautiful blend of Finnish and Scandinavian elements in the finer details as well as the overall aesthetic which is minimal and monochromatic. Meteorite is an elegant picture example of modern architecture and interior that has been woven together with local traditions, simplicity, and sustainability.

Designer: Ateljé Sotamaa

All-black cabins designed to provide modern + minimal architectural escapism with an element of mystery!

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There’s something about the color black that is simply so mysterious and powerful. Most often people associate black with having a negative connotation, but there is definitely an undeniable allure to this strong color. When used correctly and tastefully in architecture, black can radiate a very modern and minimal feel, creating an aesthetic that instantly leaves you feeling calm and balanced. And this is exactly what this collection of all-black cabins do! Vacationing in a black-colored cabin may sound gloomy to you, but once you see the sheer beauty of such an architectural structure, it’ll be hard for you to say no! From a jet-black cabin with razor-sharp angles that’ll give you 007 feels, to a daredevil all-black hideaway cabin held by five support cables – this collection of all-black cabin designs is proof that when used boldly but smartly, black aesthetics can be a delight to holiday in!

The Bali House from CASA Studio is a cantilevered multi-level mountain retreat with fully glazed glass windows for an almost-all-glass exterior, open-air terraces that offer unobstructed views, and sophisticated living areas with dark stone and warm wooden elements. Using 3dsmax, Corona Renderer, and Adobe Photoshop, interior photography, and CGI studio, CASA creates 3D visualizations of architectural plans and their interiors for clients in advertising and PR. Designing the escapist homes of our dreams is their job at Casa, and their latest called Bali House features an almost entirely glass facade and a cantilevered frame. Lodged into the mountainside, the Bali House keeps an obscure profile, with a jet black finish and unadorned exterior. On the property’s wood-slatted ground level, an infinity pool takes center stage beside a lounge and roofed dining area.

Suspended House is a reinterpreted A-frame cabin that hangs off a California cliffside with the help of five high-tensile support cables. Peeking out from the cliffs of Mendocino, California, Suspended House hovers in midair. In his rendering, Eshtiyaghi conceptualized Suspended House after choosing its cliffside location. To ensure that the structure would hold tight and remain in place, Eshtiyaghi looked to using five high-tensile support cables and a large foundation mast. The large mast works by balancing the forces of gravity and gently ‘tugging’ the A-frame cabin towards the mast for it to remain upright. In addition to the large foundation mast, five high-tensile support cables securely lodge the cabin in place from all sides.

Marc Thorpe, architect, and designer extraordinaire, recently unveiled his design for Canton House, a cluster of off-grid cabin hotels in the forest of Romania’s Carpathian Mountains that are built from locally harvested timber and inspired by the surrounding area’s vernacular architecture. In Romania, rural towers and spires of religious centers are often defined by their fully-shingled wooden construction. Inspired by the local area’s shingled roofs and facades, Thorpe clad Canton House’s trio of cabins, from top to bottom in blackened, locally sourced timber, wrapping the exterior facades in uniform wooden shingles. The triangular roof stems from Canton House’s rectangular front facade.

Studio Puisto, a sustainable interior design studio based in Finland, recently debuted the first prototype of cabins soon to be part of a larger hospitality project called Kivijärvi Resort. The resort’s first completed cabin is called Niliaitta, which refers to the traditional storage structure built at the end of a high pillar, used by the Sámi people to store food and equipment, keeping it safe from the grasp of hungry or curious wildlife. In order to immerse guests of Kivijärvi Resort in the elements of nature as safely, but also as close as possible, Studio Puisto installed a floor-to-ceiling window that stands some distance from the cabin’s deep gable roof. From Niliaitta’s front-facing window, guests enjoy the most dominant landscapes as the cabin’s location was purposefully selected to offer the most unobstructed views of Finland’s forest and nearby body of water.

Designed by Marc Thorpe, Edifice is a simple black off-grid cabin in Upstate New York. It’s been neatly tucked into the Catskill Mountains, situated in the little village of Fremont. The cabin features a single bedroom and occupies a total of 500 square meters. It’s nestled amongst trees, creating a quaint and quiet spot, that functions as a wonderful retreat in the midst of nature. The cabin was built as an example of “introverted architecture”, and is a self-sustaining structure that was an “exercise in reduction”. The little box is clad in stained cedar and features a simple rectangular form. The walls on the southern and western sides have thin windows, providing views of the surrounding greenery.

Blackbird is a getaway cabin that exists as “a place to be by oneself.” The getaway cabin, an angular structure of black mass combined with tinted glass and a jagged, haphazard display of metal beams, resembles a spaceship that can land in any environment. As conceptualized, Blackbird has landed in a Georgian forest clearing, amidst dense fog and textured pine trees, where it appears right at home. From the outside, below a white, cloudy sky, Blackbird’s asymmetrical frame has a tough exterior constructed from metal to provide a sense of security. Meant to dissolve the barrier between nature and the interior, the tinted glass windows evoke a feeling of privacy, like a lookout that allows its residents to remain hidden while scanning their surroundings.

On the island of Stokkøya, Norway lies a blackwood hill cabin. Surrounded by the sea to the west, and lush green landscapes to the east, it is a summer haven for a family of five. Expanding over several levels, the wooden cabin provides impressive views of its surroundings and is artfully balanced with them. The Kappland Arkitekter firm designed the cabin to ensure it perfectly merges with its surrounding landscape. Showcasing a typically Nordish minimal aesthetic, the cabin instantly washes you over with a sense of calm. “Perched on piles at the front and anchored on a concrete slab at the back, the building gently hovers on the slope, leaving hardly any footprint,” said the architecture studio. The leveled structure of the building creates several layers within the interiors of the cabin as well. According to the studio, one can experience the slopes of the hill within the house, and outside the house.

Birdbox is actually a prefabricated shipping container-like cabin that offers one-of-a-kind escapes to lush destinations surrounded by nature. The cabins are simple, rectangular structures with huge circular and oval windows to give you a larger-than-life view of nature. Just like the exterior, the interior also has minimal decor which makes for a cozy space with a queen bed and a handful of chairs. The Birdboxes come in two sizes currently – the “Mini” at 10.5’ x 7.2’ x 7.2’ “Mini” and the “Medi” at 16.7’ x 7.87’ x 7.87’.” There’s also a separate “Birdbox Bathroom” which features a black tint one-way glass floor-to-ceiling window.

The Livit Studypod is a futuristic black-box style cube that you can place anywhere you want and focus on your work, study or even health! This composite cube structure works as your bedroom, home office, or study table and is designed for outdoor use. Easy to place in your backyard, garden, or anywhere with a view, the black-tinted hardened glass window gives an unobstructed view of your scenery. Since the cube is a closed structure, it keeps you safe from the weather across the year. Measuring 2.15 x 1.8 x 2.1 meters, this cube is perfectly sized for you to style it for your comfort, improving your headspace, and keeping you stress-free. The pod does weigh 700 kilos but it also comes with optional wheels that let you move it and settle down for a quick change of scenery! The pod has oak flooring, a detachable desk, a power outlet, four downlights, and natural ventilation to keep the place airy.

Set on a rugged, 8-acre site on the secluded side of the island, the cabin offers magical views of the lush, lichen-covered rainforest and the serene bay water that surrounds it. The island is secluded from the dense population of Canadian cities but recent developments on and around it have left the natural sanctuary vulnerable. The Office of McFarlane Biggar Architects + Designers (OMB) has created an environmentally friendly alternative with a small environmental footprint to encourage sustainable travel and construction. “The views and access to sunshine were really the key considerations that helped us position the home,” says the architect. The cabin’s position is perpendicular to the rocky coastline and captures the sun from east to west, while the stained black cedar cladding helps it visually recede into the forest.