Mountain Cabin (Marte)
Laterns
Marte.Marte Architekten
DESIGNER: Marte.Marte Architekten BUILDER: Amann Bau BUILD DATE: 2011
LOCATION: Laterns, Vorarlberg, Austria PHOTO CREDITS: Marc Lins RATING: 4 Stars
Mountain Cabin is a four-storey holiday retreat perched on a steep hillside in Laterns, a small alpine village in Austria's Vorarlberg region. Designed by Marte.Marte Architekten and built by local firm Amann Bau, it sits at the edge of a wooded ravine with long views out over the surrounding mountains and forest.
It isn't a container build, but it thinks like one. The whole home sits on a footprint of around 43 square metres and stacks roughly 103 square metres of living over four compact levels. The kitchen and living room share the top floor, the entrance and a sheltered terrace sit on the upper-middle floor, and the bedrooms and storage are tucked into the lower levels, all tied together by a spiral stair.
Build Method
The cabin is a double-walled concrete shell. Outside, the concrete has been roughly hewn to give it a rocky, textured finish, so the tower looks like it has been carved out of the mountain itself. Inside, the walls and ceilings are smooth exposed concrete, warmed up with oak floors, doors, window frames and furniture, plus black metal details.
Two large rectangular openings wrap around the body of the tower and cut a covered outdoor terrace into the upper-middle level, which you reach by a stair at the rear. Square windows of different sizes are punched into each face to frame particular views of the valley. Apart from the driveway, the natural slope of the site was left pretty much untouched.
Interbode Thoughts
We love how much this little tower does with so little ground. It shows that going up rather than out can give you a tiny footprint, big views and a real sense of escape. It's concrete rather than steel, but the thinking is the same as our stacked builds: compact rooms, a vertical plan and every window earning its place. If a small vertical home on a steep block appeals, have a look at our HELI, two 20ft containers stacked into a two-level, two-bedroom home. Great job Marte.Marte!
Build or Buy
Guides
NEST Design & Build Plans
2 BED | 1 KIT | 1 BATH - Dimensions: W x D x H
NEST is a double unit 2X 20M (40ft) High Cube Shipping container design suitable for a small house/ holiday apartment use complete with regular kitchen and bathroom in both Grid and Off Grid configurations and with 1 Solar roof option.
Download detailed plans for NEST which include the following drawings in A3:
DRAWINGS SCHEDULES
PROJECT NOTES
FLOOR PLAN
REFLECTED CEILING
ROOF PLAN
ELEVATIONS
SECTIONS
INTERNAL ELEVATIONS
TYPICAL DETAILS
KITCHEN DRAWINGS
JOINERY DRAWINGS
BATHROOM DRAWINGS
ASSEMBLY DRAWINGS
WINDOW SCHEDULES
LIGHTING PLAN
POWER & SWITCHES PLAN
ELECTRICAL SCHEMATICS
FIXTURES & FINISHES SCHEDULE
Bespoke plans or amendments are also available from Interbode’s Design Studio. Contact Us: https://www.interbode.com
Notes:
Whilst detailed, this document is not for construction and is not intended to be compliant with all council or building regulations in your country or state. Prior to commencing build you should engage a suitable architect/drafts person and a qualified engineer.
All plans are copyright of Interbode Pty Ltd and Boxwood Construction Pty Ltd.