Hello Wood, a Budapest-based architecture firm, best known for the unique Rocks resort, its lovable buildings, and cabins—including the minimalist Kabinka, the ‘extraterrestrial’ Pebble pod, or the elevated Wauhaus—has now designed and built its most charming and eccentric small house yet.
Hello Wood’s Jet House is a childhood fantasy come true. The cottage in the shape of a pastel blue airplane is tucked away in a ring of trees among the hills of Zala County, Hungary. It seems as if it had flown out of a cartoon and landed on the meadow with its friendly arcs and curves and round windows, and upon entering, a child's kingdom is revealed.
The client who approached the studio with the idea of this unusual cabin was its youngest ever. 12-year-old Lujzi dreamed of a playhouse she could retreat to, invite her friends over to, and sleep in, and that could later be converted into lodging. Lujzi has always enjoyed traveling, especially flying on aircraft, which is why she had an airplane-themed cabin in her dreams. She arrived at the first meetings with elaborate ideas and plans on paper. Supported by his father, she followed the design process till its end, representing an excitingly different perspective from that of typical real estate developers. Starting from Lujzi's idea, the designers’ concept was to create a full-fledged, functional tiny house that is more reminiscent of a beautiful design toy than a building.
The designer's goal, expanding on Lujzi's vision, was to produce a fully working small house that is more akin to a beautiful design toy than a building. The tiny residence was created by combining function with fantasy: the plane's wings form spacious terraces, a circular window covers the plane's nose, and a short flight of airport stairs leads to the front door. The interior's retro airplane mood is achieved by the rounded shapes and lovely wood elements. A small kitchen, bathroom, built-in desk and bench, as well as a bed, were placed in the cabin based on the customer's ideas. It was furnished with two actual airplane seats and other aviation relics collected by Lujzi and her father.
"We were happy to accept the unusual assignment. As an architect, it is an inspiring task to design a structure that has to be cute. It was also a challenge to incorporate traditional architectural elements into the sculptural shape, such as waterproofing, vapor barrier, and thermal insulation," says Tamás Fülöp, the Jet House’s project architect.
Lujzi’s Jet, bent from two directions, was composed of more than a thousand different structural pieces. In order to maintain the clean silhouette, neither junctions nor sewers could be placed on the outside of the building, and for that reason, it was given a "protective coating", an innovative waterproofing layer that secures the durability of the tiny house.
With her cozy Jet, Lujzi is on cloud nine, and she would be delighted if others could also experience what it is like to stay in an airplane house. You will soon be able to book a night in one of Hungary's most unique cabins.
