THINK…
of it as a playhouse for grownups, with the requisite element of wonder. The Cabin ANNA and its offshoot, ANNA Stay, a versatile vacation dwelling, are convertible, adaptable structures with movable walls that enable varied layouts and functions. The overarching idea is an ancient one, however: it’s all about communing with nature.
THE FORWARD…
thinking concept began seven years ago with a request from the mother of young Dutch designer Caspar Schols for a pondside structure in her Eindhoven, Netherlands, garden. She wanted to use it for reading, painting, meditating, hosting dinner parties, playing with her grandchildren or simply napping. At the time, Schols was a recent physics graduate working in microchip research; only later did he go on to study architecture at the Architectural Association in London and discover his true calling.
AT FIRST…
glance, the Cabin ANNA looks like an archetypal barn, with vertical siding of golden Douglas fir and a standing seam metal roof that peaks in the middle. Schols’ inspiration was to separate an inner shell of double-paned glass, framed on beautifully crafted wood trusses, from an outer shell of wood, and set them on on steel runners. These shells glide almost effortlessly, admitting sunlight and air to different parts of the structure as needs dictate. Like a living organism, Cabin ANNA responds to the environment and the rhythms of nature. It can be configured as a single closed volume or two separate pavilions parted in the middle, entirely open in fine weather or glass-roofed to appreciate the beauty of a rain shower or the starry night sky.
THE BASIC…
Cabin ANNA became a launchpad for a product line including the ANNA Stay, which just won the World Hotel Building of 2022 award at the World Architecture Festival in Lisbon, soon to be available for shipping to Europe or North America, assembled or flat-packed, with luxurious amenities or pared-down for off-the grid-living. It’s the realization of a dream we all share: to live immersed in nature but with all the creature comforts of home.
Design: Caspar Schols
Photography: Jorrit ‘t Hoen, Tonu Tunnel
