The Cocoon Cabin Delivers A Sleek & Sustainable 480sf Design

Mar 10, 2015

The Cocoon Cabin represents the smallest of Cocoon9’s prefab designs, but it doesn’t skimp on style. In fact, the entire concept is built upon the idea that prefab/modular housing doesn’t have to be boring. The international design firm built an open and spacious prefab using environmentally-friendly materials like FSC certified bamboo, cerused oak, and insulated glass with thermally broken aluminum frames. Inside you’ll find a variety of furniture and design finishes that serve multiple purposes.

The fold away bed not only makes extra space when neatly tucked into the wall, but also swivels into a desk, and plenty of built-in storage surrounds the bed.

Clean white walls contrast nicely with the warm oak floors.

Huge floor to ceiling windows allow plenty of light to spill in and invite the surroundings inside, making the space feel larger than it actually is.

Images courtesy Cocoon9

You’ve Never Seen A Pre-Fab Cabin Quite Like This

Sep 3, 2015

Pre-fabricated architecture has taken the world by storm in the last decade, and it’s easy to see why. Build a house in a factory and piece it together on a plot of land hundreds of miles away, all in a matter of weeks? Count me in. There are, however, limitations to this type of construction, forcing architects to adhere to a box that will fit neatly on the back of a flat bed truck.

The thing about Swedish designer Torsten Ottesjö? He isn’t really into limitations.

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Ottesjö works for Cargo Collective, who aimed to take pre-fab to the a-typical limit. They ended up with an organic, curvilinear form that flies in the face of everything we’re used to seeing in factory-built structures. The cabin is inspired by an abundant native fish, and consists of a single open space that slithers its way through the landscape. Local wood species are draped inside and out, further tying this one-of-a-kind modular building into it’s final resting place.

A Good Home Is Made Great With An Up-Cycled Spartan Trailer

Jun 25, 2015

A well-designed home with large open spaces, contemporary materials, and plenty of natural light can be a very good thing. But sometimes, there needs to be something truly unique as a focus for the home to be considered great. This is the notion architect Andrew Hinman took to heart when he designed this Texas home around a re-used Spartan Trailer.

The shimmering silvery cladding of the now immobile recreational tube is presented prominently in the composition of the home. Functionally, it operates in much of the same way it always has, only now it acts as a focal appendage to the sleek glass and steel enclosure that engulfs it. The architect wanted to celebrate the use of a recycled component in the context of a well-crafted modern structure.

A massive shed roof towers over the trailer and the interior space adjacent to it. A large sun room occupies this space, acting as an extension of the living quarters of the trailer. An exterior soaking tub ties the home in with it’s desert surroundings, emulating the feel of camping that the trailer once embraced. The space adjacent to the trailer opens up to the sunny desert vista. Looking back at the trailer from the interior, it maintains its original aluminum sheen. As you can see, stepping inside the trailer is like stepping through a portal into the past. The rest of the home feels quite new and contemporary, sitting in contrast to the retro presence the trailer provides.