HUTCH

Hutch is a capsule of shelter, sustainability and style. A prototype, off-grid cabin tucked away behind a forest in a valley near the rural village of Wollombi. The project was conceptualised recognising the urban dwellers’ need for escape, recharge, rest, relaxation, adventure and, perhaps most of all, wellbeing. A need heightened by the recent global pandemic that coincided with our design process.

The mission was to create a transportable cabin that would be constructed in a workshop and brought to site. This prototype had to be fundamentally reproducible and adaptable to different locations. It needed to: sleep 2-4 people; combine the nature-immersion of camping with the comforts and style of a luxe hotel; provide maximum amenity in a discreet and thoughtful way; exist as backstage to the site and experience of it; and allow usability and sustainable living within the weight and size constraints of a mobile dwelling. Our approach was to reference the landscape but let the structure sit recessively within it through choices of materiality and form.

Complex functional requirements had to be delivered in almost impossibly small spaces to achieve the modest footprint. Plus, we faced the challenge of balancing cost, performance and constructability against the limitations of transportation. Extracting what was critical and how spaces could be connected or serve a dual-purpose was core to the design. Construction techniques and sequencing were resolved in a heightened architectural design process. 

Hutch is a design that benefits and respects the environment. An off-grid shelter which incorporates solar panels and battery storage, rainwater harvesting, cross ventilation, and a demountable and modular design. 

The cabin delivers an open, flexible and spacious feeling pod which, when opened up, is virtually entirely outdoors. It’s narrow footprint can be dropped into any landscape and is only 2.5m wide.  The oversized windows and the opening and closing of entire walls bring an ever-changing interplay of light, shadow, and reflections.

Clearly delineated zones, nooks, and rooms each have their own distinct energy despite the 26m2 footprint. A wood-fired hot tub completes the experience from chopping the necessary wood to bathing beneath the stars at night. The dark interior architecture encourages an outward gaze. Whilst sumptuous fabrics bring warmth and cosiness on cold mornings.

The bigger idea is for the framework of the cabin to be replicated across different sites but each one individualised in design and interiors. Colours will be sampled from the landscape in a partially changeable palette to ensure simultaneous distinctiveness and cohesion between these various cabins and locations. Hutch speaks to the timeless relationship between natural environment and built spaces.

Traditional custodians: Darkinjung people of the Wonnarua Nation

Photography: Robert Walsh @robertwphoto

Alexandra Adoncello @lexcello

Team: Madeleine Blanchfield and Kevin Ewart