This 430-square-foot cabin in the middle of a dense forest in Chilean Patagonia is, admittedly, pretty out there. Engineer and designer Felipe Lüer says it himself, with a shrug: “It’s not a normal house, and we’re not normal builders.”

But this allegedly “100-percent sustainable home”—a vacation property for a general manager, a psychologist, and their kids in the Los Lagos region—paints a compelling picture of what a truly off-the-grid life could look like.

To avoid impacting the landscape, the cabin has no driveway—instead, wooden walkways wind through the forest, connecting a small parking area to the hut. “You enter the house like a squirrel,” says Lüer with a laugh. “You’re going to get wet.”

The plywood panels that line the interior were cut to fit off-site and then carried in for assembly—no bulldozers or trucks entered the worksite. The roof is made from steel; the insulation is wool, a material commonly used in Patagonia for construction. A black-water treatment system was the project’s biggest splurge, although triple-pane glass is an important investment for the cabin’s energy efficiency, too.

The pellet stove is for cooking, not for warming the house. “Heating should never exist in any house,” say Lüer. “The sun is enough.” The water is heated by a roof system that captures warmth from the sun.

A documentary called Garbage Warrior first piqued Lüer’s interest in the world of avant-garde green architecture. “The architect shows you how to build the house, but also shows you that you can be free. Using just the sun to keep warm and to cook…seeing that was super powerful,” he says. Six years ago he started his firm, ZeroCabin, and began building what he calls “houses that let people live like animals.”

To be clear, to Lüer, “living like an animal” is a positive thing: an opportunity to shed our obsession with creature comforts and connect back to the rhythms of the earth. It takes more than just the ability to light a wood fire, or comfort with using a composting toilet. “I’m giving people a house, plus psychological training,” says Lüer. “We’re trying to show people that what civilization has been telling you about always getting what you want, and having the temperature you want all year long…that’s not real. That’s not what nature does.”

He points to the animal world as proof that it’s possible to live without central heating. In the winter, animals can’t crank up the thermostat; instead, they adapt. Some hibernate; some head for warmer climates. “Everything in nature changes its habits,” he explains.

$27,500 Land	$13,500 Grading, foundation and framing	$3,120 Doors and windows
$1,200 Plumbing	$3,030 Lighting and Electrical	$30,470 Structural, flooring and wall finishes
$2,690 Furniture and cabinets	$2,250 Roofing	$8,000 Labor
$10,000 Contractor fee	$3,500 Black water system	$3,000 Solar system
$2,800 Hot water dual system	$2,300 Hot tubs	$3,500 Rainwater system
Grand Total: $116,860

His clients are the sort of people who click with this perspective—and many wind up becoming dear friends over the course of a project. “When they connect with this idea, they start to plan their life depending on the weather, and in the end, this is freedom. We give them the knowledge to live like they never thought they could.”

Related Reading:

This Modular Cabin in Chile Cost Just $51 Per Square Foot

They Built Their $60K Home to Preserve the Surrounding Forest

This 100% Off-Grid Cabin in Chile Was Built for $165K

Project Credits:

Designer, Builder, Structural Engineer, Technology: ZeroCabin / @zerocabin

Also Appears In

Budget Breakdown: Inside a $117K Extreme Off-Grid Cabin in the Patagonian Forest