Cabins

by Philip Jodidio

Life in the woods: Creative cabin architecture Ever since Henry David Thoreau's described his two years, two months, and two days of cabin existence at Walden Pond, Massachusetts in Walden, or, Life in the Woods (1854), the idea of a refuge dwelling has seduced the modern psyche. In the past decade, as our material existence and environmental footprint has grown exponentially, architects around the globe have become particularly interested in the possibilities of the minimal, low-impact, and isolated abode. This new TASCHEN title, combining insightful text, rich photography and bright, contemporary illustrations by Marie-Laure Cruschi, explores how this particular architectural type presents special opportunities for creative thinking. In eschewing excess, the cabin limits actual spatial intrusion to the bare essentials of living requirements, while in responding to its typically rustic setting, it foregrounds eco-friendly solutions. As such, the cabin comes to showcase some of the most inventive and forward-looking practice of contemporary architecture, with Renzo Piano, Terunobu Fujimori, Tom Kundig and many fresh young professionals all embracing such distilled sanctuary spaces. The cabins selected for this publication emphasize the variety of the genre, both in terms of usage and geography. From an artist studio on the Suffolk coast in England to eco-home huts in the Western Ghats region of India, this survey is as exciting in its international reach as it is in its array of briefs, clients, and situations. Constant throughout, however, is architectural innovation, and an inspiring sense of contemplation and coexistence as people return to nature and to a less destructive model of being in the world.

Genres: Architecture, Design, Nonfiction, Photography, Coffee Table Books, Art Design, Art

508 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2014

Reviews

[rico palcich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normalize adding coffee table books to Goodreads.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations of cute, contemporary cabins accompanied by excellent photographs. Many of the entries include a detailed floorplan, which I adored. More of that please. The book is large enough to serve as a foundation for a cabin, should that need arise.

[Баба Єга · Rating 4 out of 5]

Чудова атмосферна книга, якщо ви залюблені в архітектуру, романтику ескапізму і любите погортати відповідні фото. Тексту напрочуд мало, зате трьома мовами 😊
Трохи зіпсувала відчуття наявність деяких проєктів лише в 3д. Таке враження, що вони там в якості реклами.

[Dirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not gonna lie...bought it for the pictures. Just wanted to ponder over the possibility of owning a nice little cabin one day...😊 But what surprised me were the floorplans that came with the cabins. Neat little overviews. Very insightful. It is also interesting to read more info about architects and their backgrounds. This book gave me the inspiration I was looking for. But it also vanished pretty quick. Now, it’s just a book being pretty. I’m sure I will grab it once in a while to get a little bit of cabin-kick.

[Sarah TheAromaofBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I 100% bought this book because the size, weight, and cover appealed to me so strongly. I've been reading one cabin a day for almost two months, enjoying it while I eat my breakfast every morning.

Pros (besides being perfect in size, weight, and cover appeal): Super fun illustrations for each cabin, floorplans for many of them (I need them for ALL), engaging photographs.

Cons: Some of these didn't feel like cabins?? To me, "cabin" implies someplace you could actually live or, at the least, stay for a weekend. Many of these were just sleeping rooms, lacking any place to cook. They felt very "concept" instead of something I would actually ever want to build or visit.

A few years ago my husband and I went to an art museum. There were a lot of pieces there where I could understand why it was art, and why it was there, but I definitely wouldn't want it hanging in my living room. I ended up feeling that way about a lot of these cabins. Many of them felt rather gimmicky, just architects messing about instead of someone actually designing a space to be welcoming, cozy, and livable.

All in all, I did enjoy working my way through this one and it's a lovely coffee table book. But if you're actually looking for cabin ideas, this one doesn't really deliver.

[Karl Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cabins has a beautiful cover and it’s in three languages, so it makes the perfect coffee table book as a decoration. However, Cabins and Tree Houses both have the same problem, with the photos and the illustrations either in a small vertical format or being ruined by the gutter of the book, which really does not work either way. The writing is so dry and factual that it's more for language learning or looking up more information online than anything else. Five stars for the cover, like two and a half for the inside.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the perfect book to pick up and read while staying in a cabin or Airbnb which is exactly what I did. These type of books are usually coffee table size and a little awkward to hold in your lap but this one was small, 7x9 (or so?), and easy to cozy up with. The only problem is that means the pictures are small too!

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photography was excellent! This is a beautiful book. One of my favorite parts about it was its multilingual approach. Also, the cabin “footprint” design being including for each cabin was an excellent choice.

[Montaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complete, expose different style architecture. Area and budget included on almost every case. Not enough written content.

[Tszching_renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice collection of small architectures ! very satisfying !

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these were just ugly, some I wondered where the murderer was who was waiting for people to stay, and others I just wanted to go to and hide for a while (I had a week, OK).

[Kayla Zabcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

not sure if these people know what cabins are

[Loung Hi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty photos, I like the architectural design but my brain thinks how impractical some of the designs are.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grosse inspi pour les Sims !

[Flávio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice coffee table book.
I wish the descriptions were a bit longer and more in-depth. In some of the cabins the interiors were not shown, which was the part that I was most curious about.