This Off-Grid Micro Hut Brings Mountain Runners Back to Nature

Author

Field Mag

Photographer

On Running

This Off-Grid Micro Hut Brings Mountain Runners Back to Nature

A minimalist, modular alpine hut designed by the technical footwear maker offers athletes the ultimate alps experience

Published: 07-15-2019

Updated: 03-31-2020

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Field Mag Editors

Insight and inspiration from the Field Mag editorial team, sharing decades of hard-earned experience and knowhow.

Set consciously between towering mountains 2,500 meters up in an area of the Swiss Alps locals call “the roof of Europe,” the On Mountain Hut is a trail runner’s dream. Built of sustainable materials by Swiss technical running shoe brand On—and designed by its Head of Design Thilo Alex Brunner—the minimalist, modular hut stands as a minimalist reminder of the outsized impact nature has had on the company.

Or, in more practical terms, an off-grid refuge for friends and family of the brand looking to escape the daily stressors of city life and experience the alps in all its glory.

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Using the design language of a set of stairs, the modest, self-sustaining micro cabin features a series of platforms falling from the entrance on down past living quarters to a large glass viewpoint overlooking the valley below. A lofted sleeping mezzanine shares the same view, and a wood-fired stove keeps the place cozy year round.

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Built almost exclusively of light local wood with a uniquely reflective metal exterior, the On Mountain Hut is warm and inviting and uniquely camouflaged, blending in the with landscape in order to not detract from the region’s natural beauty. Plus, it was designed to be both easy to construct and to take down at a later date, further reducing it’s impact on the landscape.

Ya love to see it.