For many, the entire idea of owning a remote cabin centers around a need for mental and physical refuge—a place to unplug from daily stressors and take in the stillness of nature. This prefab cabin outside Vienna, Austria offers just this, with clever architectural details that enhance and encourage a connection with the natural surroundings.
Named Tom's Hut for the cabin's owner, the wood structure—designed by Heike Schlauch and Robert Fabach of Austrian architecture firm Heike Schlauch—is built upon the footprint of a previously existing farmhouse, integrating a remaining brick wall at the entryway. The minimalist design features a large, open main room with a wood-fired stove and an elevated sleeping loft with multiple storm windows that can be fully closed to block out light or opened to add unique viewing points to the already unconventional cabin.
The beautiful wood construction will weather with time, further encouraging the modest, off-the-grid hut to forget its industrial roots and reflect its surrounding environment. Likewise, the architects hope the owner will too absorb the calm and purity of the Austrian backcountry. After all, isn’t this why we leave the city in the first place?
