Dezeen Magazine

Ermitage Cabin by Septembre

This tiny wooden cabin in Sweden contains a sauna and a bedroom with large picture windows that frame views of the surrounding forest (+ slideshow).

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The cabin was designed by Paris studio SEPTEMBRE for a couple who spend their summers on the remote island of Trossö, off the west coast of Sweden.

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It is situated in a clearing just 50 metres from the the North Sea and the architects told Dezeen that their brief was for "a room with a view of the sea," that gives "the feeling of being immersed in the landscape".

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The clients also asked that the building "make minimal impact on the surounding nature [so] no trees should be cut down."

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The cabin is raised off the ground so it sits lightly on the plot and all of the materials used were transported to the site by boat as there are no roads on the island.

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A pitched roof references the vernacular of local fishing huts and also increases the internal volume.

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External walls are made from Swedish spruce that has been painted black. The floorboards are also spruce, while the internal walls and ceiling are clad in plywood.

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A large sliding door leads from a small deck into the bedroom. With the door open, the deck effectively doubles the usable floor space.

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In the bedroom, a mattress is placed at the back of a wooden platform that also acts as a surface for seating.

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Long drawers on castors roll out from underneath the platform to provide storage.

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The sauna is entered through a door at the side of the cabin and contains benches and a window looking out onto the forest.

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Renzo Piano recently completed a tiny cabin designed as a self-sufficient hideaway for a single inhabitant at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, while other wooden cabins on Dezeen include an artists' cabin built on the side of a hill in Nova Scotia and a wood-clad two-storey cabin in Austria.

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We've published some unusual saunas on Dezeen, including one with wings like a bird and another that's hung from a bridge – see more stories about saunas.

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Plan in section
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Long section
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Cross section
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Elevation
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Site plan