Temporary Office: We will like to share a living prototype that can potentially affect positive change to our environment. It is a remote living hut sited in Cambodia. This project is a winning entry submitted to an international competition organized by Bee Breeders and The Vine Retreat in 2020.
The brief asked for a series of 20sqm small living hut that can accommodate two guests who comes for The Vine Retreat wellness retreat. The site is covered with vast natural elements such as trees, vines, farms, etc. We see the charm of the site remains as is. Hence, the big idea is how we could preserve the state of nature and create a comfortable living space for deep appreciation of the beauty. Ultimately, we hope this hut will outperforms its basic function of a mere shelter, and demonstrates a model that marries living and education. It is a space to learn about our impact on nature and vice versa. We believe that to affect positive change to people’s mindset, we can do it one hut at a time.
The seed to environmental wellness (Design Concept)
The notion behind this hut revolves around the life giving form of nature. Cambodia’s ecotourism has successfully enlightened us on the significance of nature brings to our wellness and environmental biodiversity, but it has also shed light on the ceaseless threat of global warming and natural disaster caused by deforestation. Therefore, unique to The Vine Retreat, the proposed hideout huts will not only preserve but venerate the beauty of nature, offering visitors the opportunity to forge a deeper environmental connection.
The Hut Design
Inspired by Cambodia’s traditional Khmer housing, the new retreat hut reinforces the significance of the gable roof with a uniform roof erected around a raised platform for living. The potential of the hut on stilts not only prevents flooding but also threads lightly onto the landscape. Central to the design is the courtyard, unifying all the living spaces around a central tree. Sleeping, mediating, exercising, reading or washing revolves around this central piece of nature. Now, the commonly known relationship between nature on the ‘outside’ and living on the ‘inside’ is now inverted. The new hideout hut serves as a reminder that all life forms breathes and starts from our care for nature.
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