Daydreaming of finding a cheap plot of land and building a cabin of our own is pretty much half a second full time job for these days. The idea of owning a unique off-grid retreat is beyond compelling for this nature-starved New Yorker. And now, after so many months spent indoors, no doubt you, dear reader, likely share this fantasy.
To stoke the flames, there’s the Grand Cabin A-Frame, a clever, colorful prefab A-Frame house kit by Budapest-based creative studio Hello Wood.
Originally designed to accommodate up to 20 people for use as an off-grid shelter for forward thinking events—the pictured prototype was first built in 2018 by a group of students during the studio’s international summer school and festival, “Cabin Fever”—the expandable structure can just as well stand as a spacious weekend cabin for just one or a family of more.
Made of prefabricated wooden panels, the 324 sq ft cabin consists of a large, central open space, flanked in front and back with windows, with two brightly colored sleeping “capsules” affixed to either side.
Although intended to be off-grid, customizations can be made to a Grand Cabin model, like the addition of a bathroom and/or kitchen. After agreeing with their clients on the details and plan for their particular model, Hello Wood constructs as much of the cabin in their factory as possible and then delivers the pieces to their client’s property for assembly, which takes skilled workers about a week to complete.
As for availability, the Grand Cabin kit starts at about $70,600 USD (or $60,000 EU), plus freight fees. And while the cabin is not currently available in the U.S., plans are in the works to start shipping stateside soon.
With an innovative and sustainable design, the Grand Cabin expands the definition of what a prefab A-Frame in the outdoors could look like and be used for, and when it’s safe for us to hang once more with a big group, this looks like an ideal spot. In the meantime, we’ll keep daydreaming of building one just for us.
Published 10-29-2020
