Design Challenge
Some of my fondest memories come from camping trips I shared with my family and friends. I have grown to appreciate the power of being outside and experiencing nature and often wonder if I would be able to leave the city behind and live in the forest. As I’m not sure I could do that, or even truly want to, I’ve settled on the less dramatic approach of regularly visiting the outdoors. To accomplish my more reasonable desire, I first thought I needed a small cabin to use for sleeping and cooking. However, a full cabin always seemed too big and intrusive to justify being built. The only other preexisting alternative was a tent, which felt inadequate. To bridge the gap, I created this crossover “cabent”.
Approach
The structure I have designed has all the features one might hope from a full building refined into a footprint not much bigger than the average tent. Recognizing the bed would constitute most of the structure’s footprint, I elevated it allowing for the other functions to be located directly underneath and separating the users from unwanted wildlife during the night. One of the great pleasures when out in nature is getting to see the full night sky. I didn’t want to take this away from the people sleeping in my structure, so I used large glass panels on the roof to ensure optimal star-gazing, maximizing the morning sun as well. Large storage closets are found underneath the bed and a simple covered counter area used for lounging and food preparation is located on the opposite wall. The mechanism used to cover the counter area is a large piece of plywood that when not in use, swings down to close off the structure. Wood was chosen as the building material because in almost all climates it can be locally sourced. This not only reduces the cost but means the cabin can blend into its surroundings reducing the apparent footprint and when the end of its life is reached, it can be composted on site.
