Text description provided by the architects. This project is located in Huanggang City, Hubei Province, covering an area of about 10 acres, functioning as weekend cabin. This two cabins are also part of the Wiki World Co-Building Plan that will build a series of unique natural homes in nature.
Living high in the air – In many kids’ building festivals in the past, what we like to listen to most is the children’s imagination of their favorite houses. Children always have some interesting fantasies. For example, they said they envy giraffes and can see the scenery of treetops. This is also the inspiration for the two wooden cabins. We’d love to build a slender cabin type so that we can live high in the sky. The space are high in the air, you might have a sense of climbing mountains at home. The cabins are close to treetops and the slender facade is like a giraffe in nature. The cabins use reflective materials because we always hope to reduce the interference of buildings on the environment. Therefore, the giraffe is looming. We controlled the proportions of the cabins, and the plan is slender, only 2.5 meters wide, so that we can better focus on the horizontal views on each floor.
Hidden in nature – We always hope cabins don’t look abrupt in nature, so we choose to wrap the building with reflective metal plates. The cabin is hidden in nature. The wooden core and metal shell are simple construction logic. Arriving from a distance, the cabin will constantly change its appearance due to the environment, and you will not feel the pressure of the volume when you arrive close. This hidden impression will enhance the sense of security of living in it, and users will focus on the experience of the interior space. The interior space of the giraffe is like the experience of climbing a mountain.
We designed a tortuous and narrow ladder in the three-story space. The vertical dimension is a unique experience: the first floor is the living room, bathroom and terrace, the second floor is the bathroom and a smaller bedroom, and climbing up is the master bedroom and terrace on the third floor. The master bedroom is equipped with a skylight, and you can look at the stars while lying on the bed. The terrace is very large, which is a good reward after climbing the mountain. You can reach out and touch the leaves. Maybe this is the perspective of the giraffe in the eyes of children.
Build Naturally – The whole building adopts glue-lam structure, and each special-shaped component and node is designed and customized through digital technology, realizing 100% fully assembled construction. There is no standard answer to living. Everyone hopes that the residence can convey their understanding of life, so there is a setting like “living under the palette”. Wiki World continues the natural construction concept that has always been in place. We retain every tree and bamboo in the site, continue the original woodland and trail texture, and the house is completely suspended from the ground.
All buildings are self-developed prefabricated wood structures, built by the team and our communities together. Natural buildings can be built like Lego. Little cabins, like building blocks, were placed in the forest. We stick to the original wild wood construction technique that we hand fired the façade of the carbonized wood boards. The cabins are all connected by small metal components that can be repeatedly assembled. We try to create a precise relationship between the cabins and the environment in the nature. Each wooden cabin is elevated above the ground, and no walls or artificial landscapes are used. Nature is the best package.
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Cite: “The Giraffe Cabin / Wiki World + Advanced Architecture Lab” 22 Apr 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed .
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