We all dream about getting away from it all. But to where? And what are we going to do when we get there, pitch a tent?Thankfully, a new book from Berlin-based design house Gestalten focuses exclusively on hide-outs and includes everything from spectacular homes hidden in forests to cozy bungalows perched on mountaintops. Architecturally, these homes solve problems and experiment while aesthetically, they sooth and embrace their coexistence with nature.
"The successful hideout not only pulls on our heart strings and conjures an instinctual feeling of longing, but also helps us reclaim our sense of wonder toward the world around us," architect and professor Sofia Borges writes in the preface. And the 256 pages in “Hide and Seek: The Architecture of Cabins and Hide-Outs” ($60) don't disappoint with beautiful photographs that show how, “with the right concept, decor and atmosphere, even small or basic designs become stunning sanctuaries."
To the lucky homeowners, oh, how we envy you. Here are five of our favorites:
1. Garage, Puget Sound, Washington:
There is no auto repair done in this garage. No, this space, called "Garage," by Seattle-based Graypants, Inc., is for repairing the soul. Built at the edge of Puget Sound, a neglected garage was repurposed into a multi-functional living space, complete with hidden, pop-up beds beneath the floor boards. Outfitted with glass walls and a wood-burning stove, this hide-out is perfect for watching the seasons change. It won Graypants, Inc. three architectural awards, and is also the setting for this trippy video.
2. Casa Pezo, Cretas, Spain:
Casa Pezo, known as Solo House by its designers, Pezo von Ellrichshausen, was built to sit above the treetops and watch over the Spanish vineyards, olive groves, and 600 residents of Cretas below. A hidden plinth supports the home as it climbs out through the native plants, and "crystalline, symmetrical" living spaces follow the 360 degree view of Iberia. In the middle, a roofless pool "reflects the sky." Tour it yourself here.
3. Bivacco Luca Vuerich, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy:
More than 8,000 feet above sea level, along the Ceria-Merlone trail in the Julian Alps, exhausted trekkers can find respite in this A-frame cabin designed by Giovanni Pesamosca Architetto. It was named after a 34-year old climber who was killed in a 2010 avalanche, and commissioned and built in a single day by his family on the Foronon Buinz Mountain. At 16 square meters, it's tight quarters, but up to nine campers can sleep through winter's harshest winds there.
4. Sledge-Project, Qaasuitsup, Greenland:
Are they from the future, or another planet? Designed by Dutch artist Rob Sweere and commissioned by the Uummannaq Polar Institute, the two rooms in "Sledge-Project" are hosts to six residents each and can be pulled by dog or person across the arctic sea ice. They're insulated, provide facilities for cooking, sitting, and sleeping, and were built for an organization that pairs troubled children with local hunters to "learn the ways of the wild," the book states. There's no access to electricity, and any water is taken from the ancient glaciers surrounding the island.
5. Portable House ÁPH80, Madrid, Spain:
Have your own remote destination in mind? Madrid-based studio Ábaton designed a series of portable homes, called ÁBH80, for simplicity and mobility. In keeping with their philosophy of well-being and environmental balance, it says these homes are "easily transported by road and ready to be placed almost anywhere." The tiny homes offset spatial efficiency with an indoor feeling "of fullness," and the wood used inside is from regulated forests that will be regrown. It takes them 6-8 weeks to make, but only one day to build. If you're in Spain and have your escape already picked out, prices start at 21,900€ -- or about $28,000. See them in action here.
from Travel - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/Y7FTTF
0 comments:
Post a Comment