Cabin Fever: seven contemporary cabins built by students as part of Hello Wood's International Summer University and Festival

As part of Hello Wood's International Summer University and Festival, students from around the world got the chance to build seven contemporary structures, from a solitary wool-lined cabin to a forest clubhouse. Set in the depths of rural Hungary, the 2018 edition of the Hungarian-led collective's summer school asked students to construct tiny houses in a collaborative process over the course of the week-long program focused on the concept of 'Cabin Fever'.

A psychological term that applies to the irritability and restlessness caused by the feeling of isolation, Cabin Fever can occur when in a solitary location, stuck indoors,  and also, paradoxically, frequently in cities. Hello Wood, a European offshoot of the Tiny House Movement, wanted to explore this concept as a reaction to the increasingly urban lifestyle as well as the wide spread excitement across the architectural field.

"Why are we architects so obsessed with cabins? Is this a reaction to the downfall of big architectural movements and the lack of self-confidence in today's generation? Or is it rather an urge to simplify the environment radically?" Hello Wood commented. "We are looking to explore a range of similar questions in the program. As architects we are captivated by Cabin Fever as a symptom of certain social deficiencies that trigger a disproportionate amount of our time to designing cabins."

Explore all of the projects below:

GRAND CABIN CLUB by Hello Wood

Team leaders: Dávid Ráday, András Huszár, Nóra Fekete, Ádám Bajtai
Team: Martin Varvas, Ogulcan Aksoy, Simona Rusnačková, Lucia Pum, Milan Voorhorst, Maria Gracia Latorre, Matteo Rossetti, Filip Cerha, Miriam Rieke, Nolwen Major Francès, Csaba Rittling

Project Description:  How can you create space for lots of people in a small wooden cabin? The Grand Cabin Club is not a lonely retreat, but a place nestled in the forest which is perfect for socializing, dinners with friends or even house parties. Even the shape of the building makes you think of cosy evenings playing board games with friends. Its A-shape gives it a nostalgic feel, especially for Central Europeans familiar with the Czech-style mountain lodges which inspired its design. The Grand Cabin Club compensates for some of the downsides of classical forms. It was built using pre-fabricated, made-to-measure wooden panels by Berger Houses and its huge glass windows offer magnificent views of the surrounding countryside. The cabin can comfortably accommodate eight people, but as many as twenty people could fit inside for a party. This was made possible because the builders did not separate the central space with walls or floors. What’s more, the two bedrooms and the bathroom are in ‘boxes’ which are accessible from inside but actually joined on to the outside of the cabin. These sleeping boxes, which open on to the interior of the cabin, and the large common space evoke one of the critical aspects of the Hello Wood camps - the blurring of boundaries between community and private areas.

Users will be able to make use of similar environmentally-friendly cabins in the future thanks to the technology behind this contemporary Hungarian pre-fabricated house.

ZIGGURAT DELIVERY by ZarCola

Team leaders: Lukács Szederkényi, Dénes Emil Ghyczy, Marton Low
Team: Dóra Riederauer, Márk Winkler, Alžběta Brůhová, Harriet Dyke, Lenneke Slangen, Tina Peirlinck

Project Description: This cabin, which is both clad and insulated with wool, is specially designed for use by one person – a space for getting away from it all and getting lost in your thoughts. With positions for sitting and lying down facing one another, it is reminiscent of a psychotherapist’s room and cabin users can either take the place of the person asking questions or that of the one providing the answers, depending on whether they would prefer to think in silence or voice their problems.

Two layers of wool cover this cabin retreat. The reason for this is that although water may seep through the first layer and small bugs may hide within it, the second, inner layer will always stay dry, and insects will never make it that far. Wool is an excellent insulating material, too, and it does not just help protect against the cold, it also keeps out the heat. For safety reasons, the tin-roofed building has been designed so that there is no chance of the walls retaining heat - the warm air that enters the rooftop area escapes via a chimney-like vent and tiny holes in the wood panels around it.

PROJECT VERTICAL CABIN by H3T architekti

Team leaders: Karel Harazim, Tomáš Madro, Marek Barjak
Team: Michaela Vatraľová, Lauren Fashokun, Danny Martin, Chloe Jakharia, Carl Harris, Karolina Lazar, Josef Vild, Maria Walker, Katie Hay, Lesley Cheung, Moldovan Bianca-Claudia, Sabrah Islam

Project Description: Wheels have been fitted to one side of this vertical cabin, making it highly portable and therefore allowing users to set it up wherever they like. However, the wheels are not fitted to the bottom of the cabin, but to the longest side, so it must be placed in a horizontal position before it is transported to the desired location. The cabin was initially put together in a horizontal position, and although the light wooden structure can be moved into vertical position using human force and ropes, the roof is heavy and must be fitted on to the building by crane.

This project was unusual compared to other projects this year, as the vertical cabin was made from re-used materials. The builders worked with scrap material that had been left behind by other teams from previous years.

As the whole cabin is based on the concept of mobility, it is worth taking this into account when fitting out the interior: the simplest solution is to fix the furniture to the walls.

PROJECT TREEHOUSE by frundgallina

Team leaders: Pascal Deschenaux, Aziz Temel, Francesco Borghini
Team: Maria Victoria Gracia, Miranda Rigby, Kam Lai Man, Nguyen Hoang Minh, Jack Bowen, Igor Nesterov, Katarina Martonakova, Hugh Gibbs, Evgeny Makarenko, Nanu Youttananukorn, Anna Varga-Kardos, Karolina Krzyzanowska, Alice Kim, Laia Bramona Collet, Fruzsina Karig

Project Description: It is the small details, such as the closed and tilted angles of the sides that define the final look, minimalist form and considerable (12.5m) height of the Treehouse. As it is not a classic cubic structure, the inward-leaning triangular walls significantly reduce the interior space in the cabin. The only way of expanding the living space was therefore for the builders to increase the height of the building. It is fair to say that it is the small details that define the Treehouse, and not the other way around. The builders very much concentrated on the details before focusing on the whole.

The Treehouse is a haven and functions almost like a lighthouse for lost travellers. People inside can put a light on the roof of the wood-panelled cabin to signal to travellers that they are more than welcome to visit.

Although the building is open on the ground floor, the upper sections, which are accessed by a ladder, are completely closed off. It is there that weary travellers can find solitude, put their head down and escape the noise, cold, wind and other extreme weather outside. In the closed-off upper part, there are three hammock-style sleeping spaces on top of one another which are perfect for rest and relaxation.

CABIN MODULES by iR arquitectura

Team leaders: Fermin Indavere, Tommaso Polli
Team: Leo Hollmann, Magdi Khalil, Bartek Grzesznik, Yuliia Zalomaikina, Motong Yang, Katie van Dorssen, Henry Brook, Spanelli Efterpi Konstantina, Adrienn Sasvári, Mirna Grubisic, Christian Swallow, Polina Bouli, Emanuel Sanchez Pinela, Máté Nagy

Project Description: If our starting point is the notion that a house is defined by the various needs of its users, then it is a good idea to build it using separate portable modules, each designed for different purposes. It’s easy to split this cabin into its individual elements, such as the kitchen, the bedrooms, the communal and storage areas, and the bathroom.  Different combinations of these transportable units can then be put back together without difficulty.

This cabin is a passive house which operates using solar energy. The builders were inspired by the Plug-In Social project in Argentina. Plug-in Social used simple solar panels to supply hot water to impoverished communities in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. According to plans, green energy will also be used inside the Hello Wood cabin. Heating, for example, will be supplied via a Trombe wall which absorbs and stores the heat from the sunlight and then lets it into the living area through air vents.

Solar energy can also be used for cooking in the ‘solar kitchen’, where Fresnel lenses help collect the heat from the sun’s rays. The communal area in the middle is covered by a transparent polycarbonate roof, under which plants could even be grown, like in a greenhouse.

I AM A MONUMENT by Josep Garriga + OfficeShophouse

Team leaders: Josep Garriga, Patxi Martin, Natalia Vera Vigaray
Team: Aloutsanidis Vasilis, Lance Macadangdang, Rogier Tamminga, Hena Wang, Darya Moatazed-Keivani, Berta Ballestin, Lara Gonzalez, Pyeori JUng, Charlotte Cocking, Zhao Zhou, Fábián Villányi, Ruairidh Murdock, Gabrielle Sanchez

Project Description: A new take on an abandoned project from a previous Hello Wood camp, this stilt house provides shade and refuge, and almost appears to hover in the surrounding landscape. Although the builders used their own ideas to improve the existing structure, they also respected its current features. This approach is in line with the architectural principle which states that a building is never finished – over time it is always transformed according to the needs of those using and renovating it. The name ‘I am a monument’ was chosen to honor the previous builders’ efforts. This year, a roof and an upper floor with side walls have been built on to the existing stilts.

The cabin extends upwards and is designed to ensure that at ground level it interferes as little as possible with nature and that it leaves as few traces as possible. At the same time, it tries to give users as many opportunities as possible to get close to nature. While the upper floor offers a more private, protected space suitable for rest and relaxation, the ground floor is open, and daily chores can even be carried out in the open air. Last but not least, there are magnificent views from the roof. Those who climb to the top will be able to enjoy and take in a stunning panoramic view of the surrounding countryside.

PROJECT HELLO WOOL (woolhouse) by AU Workshop + Marton Low

Team leaders: Lukács Szederkényi, Dénes Emil Ghyczy, Marton Low
Team: Dóra Riederauer, Márk Winkler, Alžběta Brůhová, Harriet Dyke, Lenneke Slangen, Tina Peirlinck

Project Description: This cabin, which is both clad and insulated with wool, is specially designed for use by one person – a space for getting away from it all and getting lost in your thoughts. With positions for sitting and lying down facing one another, it is reminiscent of a psychotherapist’s room and cabin users can either take the place of the person asking questions or that of the one providing the answers, depending on whether they would prefer to think in silence or voice their problems.

Two layers of wool cover this cabin retreat. The reason for this is that although water may seep through the first layer and small bugs may hide within it, the second, inner layer will always stay dry, and insects will never make it that far. Wool is an excellent insulating material, too, and it does not just help protect against the cold, it also keeps out the heat. For safety reasons, the tin-roofed building has been designed so that there is no chance of the walls retaining heat - the warm air that enters the rooftop area escapes via a chimney-like vent and tiny holes in the wood panels around it.