Top 10 Hide-Outs
- Words
- Caroline Kurze
Although we enjoy living in a city like Berlin, we occasionally feel the desire for some peace and quiet and the need to seclude ourselves from the rush and the noise of the town to enjoy some fresh air in the great outdoors.
+ Read MoreWhen turning the pages of Gestalten’s latest publication entitled Hide and Seek – Architecture of Cabins and Hide-Outs we were immediately smitten with the amazing dwellings located in the forest, on the water, or in the mountains; whether light and minimalistic or dark and cozy, the compelling houses exemplify how to create remote shelters that bring calm and balance to our hectic lives. With the right concept, furniture, décor, and atmosphere, even small or basic designs become stunning sanctuaries. Can’t get enough of it.
In co-operation with Gestalten, we chose our Top 10 Hide-Outs from the amazing dwellings that you’ll find inside the book. Get it here for €39.90. And find more amazing hide-outs here.
Image © Flavio Pesamosca
This tiny, stoic A-frame cabin built by Giovanni Pesamosca Architetto perches atop a rugged, mountainous landscape in the Julian Alps. Named after a deceased climber and built and commissioned by his family, the exhilarating retreat sleeps up to nine guests. Situates 2,531 meters above sea level, the strategically placed shelter appears along a summit trail, providing refuge to hikers, climbers, visitors, or anyone looking for a rest in the mountains.
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Image © David Gagnebin-de Bons
This poetic and playful pavilion was built with a mixture of seriousness and lightness, the charming, pieced-together shelter is made out of recycled windows found on demolition sites. Designed and constructed by Bureau A in just a few days, the atmospheric project explores the direct relationship between dreaming and doing, pleasure and will.
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Image © Ruedi Walti
Buchner Bründler Architekten turned a 200-year-old wood and stone building into an enticing summer house. The delicate and demure renovation preserves the rustic quality of the weathered original façade and stone walls. The simple and minimalist interior update now houses a double-height living space, sleeping niches, and a fireplace. From the exterior, the new structure stays almost entirely hidden, setting up a captivating juxtaposition between old and new elements.
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Image © Scott & Scott Architects
Scott & ScottArchitects created a remote forest cabin that captures the challenging setting’s adventurous spirit. Accessible via a gravel road five months of the year, the home can be reached by foot or toboggan during the winter season. The cabin, designed to withstand the heavy annual snowfall and resist the dominant winds, hovers off the ground to sit above the accumulated snow. Left in their raw forms and finishes, the home’s rugged materials will gracefully age with time.
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Image © Åke Eson Lindman
Arkitektstudio Widjedal Racki created an enchanting summer house and private cabin on a waterfront property of a Swedish island. Old-growth oaks and pine trees accent the landscape’s sculptural rock formations. The home, slightly elevated from the waterfront, remains half hidden behind the knotty pine trees. Separated by a fine sliding glass wall, the living areas can come together or indistinguishably move apart according to the weather. The private sleeping areas are located in a more enclosed part of the house.
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Image © Åke Eson Lindman
Kolman Boye Architects created this house on the island of Vega in the Norwegian archipelago not far from the polar circle. Seemingly growing from the landscape, the house sits on a rock beneath a granite shoulder negotiating the uneven terrain.
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Image © Elisabeth Toll
Architectural practice DinellJohansson created the Hamra House in Gotland, Sweden. The architects aimed to build a simple home as one open space with a large number of possible beds, cooking in the middle and washing facilities outside the house.
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Image © Christian Bøcker Sørensen, Simon Hjermind Jensen
The egg-like shelter designed by Simon Hjermind Jensen takes inspiration from the architecture of nomadic people. Composed of CNC fabricated plywood stitched together with a polycarbonate structure, the hideout stretches upward towards the sky. The thin and bendable shell, reminiscent of a primitive tepee dwelling, introduces one hole in the top and two circulation openings at the bottom to promote natural ventilation. Inside, a simple bench encircles the perimeter and draws visitors towards the central fire place.
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Image © Søren Harder Nielsen, Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter
The Split View Mountain Lodge by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter has a clear and clean cut expression. The volume has a main wing, of mainly bedrooms, which naturally adapt to the terrain and devides into two branches of living zones. The shift in program and use of different levels, make this part of the building adapt to the slope of the site. With the same timber cladding on all the outer walls and roof the holiday home is unified in one volume.
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Summer House Grøgaard and Slaattelid
Image © Espen Grønli
Knut Hjeltnes Architects created a small timber summer house that grows out of the rocks and extends down the site to meet the water. Two rounded wooden arms, one shorter and one longer, hold the more private programs and frame an open glass volume in the center that overlooks the sea. Promoting links to the one-of-a-kind outdoor setting, a concrete terrace acts as a welcoming pause in the rugged micro topography.
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