This pill-shaped corrugated-metal cabin contains a reading room for a rural retreat in Australia's Barragorang Valley (+ slideshow).

Southern Highlands House was designed by Sydney studio Benn + Penna as an addition to a bush retreat owned by a couple who like to escape from the city at the weekends.

Situated around three hours by car from Sydney in a remote area of the Barragorang Valley, the site can only be accessed by four-wheel-drive vehicles and is entirely off grid, with no communications network.

The property comprises two other pavilions for sleeping and living that were designed by architect Beverley Garlick in 1993.

Benn + Penna referenced the curved roof forms and materiality of the existing structures in the design of the reading room, which is connected to the other pavilions by a new path and awning.

The reading room is positioned on one side of a pill-shaped concrete plinth, with the remaining surface forming a verandah that is connected to the interior by large sliding doors at the side and one end.

"A precisely constructed and endlessly looping facade amplifies the building as an object within a vast and harsh landscape," architect Andre Benn told Dezeen.

"The offset roof and wall volumes form a continuous external verandah with varying depth depending on the building's aspect."

The pavilion's curved wall is intended to give the space "a sense of looping endlessness" that is reinforced by a bookcase that follows the form of the inner surface.

"Internally, the atmosphere is one of contemplation and rest, with relatively small window apertures and a bookshelf wrapping the space in what feels like a thick wallpaper of books," Benn added.

The interior is minimally furnished to focus attention on the views, while a polished concrete floor provides a cool surface underfoot, but is dotted with colourful rugs. A log-burning stove is the only other fixed element, alongside the bookcase.

In response to the bushfire-prone setting, the architects chose to clad the reading room entirely in non-combustible corrugated metal sheeting that also complements the existing structures.

Other recent examples of remote rural retreats include a charred timber hideout on a Chilean hillside and a tiny cabin in a Swedish forest that contains a sauna and bedroom.

Photography is by Tom Ferguson.