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All Photos/exterior/building type : cabin/building type : prefab

Exterior Cabin Prefab Design Photos and Ideas

A family chose MyCabin to construct prefab structures in their home country of Latvia. The prefab structures have space for work, sleep, and relaxation.
This wilderness sauna cabin in the west coast of Finland was built with 112-millimeter thick squrae logs, and has a 1,028-square-foot outdoor terrace.
The prefab compact cabins that Summary designed for Syntony Hotels in Paradinha, Alvarenga, Arouca, Portugal, are made from concrete, pine, and glass.
Summary turned some of the concrete modules on their sides to create two-story cabins.
Elina and Otto paired their Iniö model with a sauna from Pluspuu and an adjacent hot tub that sit just down a path beyond the home. In winter months, guests can skinny dip before warming up again.
On the north-facing facade, it’s easy to discern where the original glass doors used to open directly to the deck. In spring of 2012, Block Island contractor John Spier replaced the entire wall of glass panels.
Koto clad the exteriors and decking with IRO timber, a heat-engineered timber that’s UV stable, HVOC-free and mimics the appearance of Shou Sugi Ban.
There are currently one Miru cabin and three Ki cabins at Fritton Lake.
Prefabricated off-site, the modular Koto cabins can be installed in as little as two hours to a few days.
Koto combines design influences from Scandinavia and Japan to create minimalist and modern cabins that blend into the landscape.
Located on Lake Superior, the Week’nder is a light-filled modern prefab with dimensions pre-determined by the size of the ferry used to transport the modules to the island.
Multiple Hytte cabins can be clustered together to create a village layout.
Wooden decks can be added to heighten the indoor-outdoor living experience.
“Escapism for us is about exploration and immersion in nature,” says Little. “We have designed beautiful buildings that sit in harmony within the natural environment and offer an interior sanctuary, a space that lends itself to quiet, contemplative reflection, a space to mindful of our wellbeing.”
All interior and exterior finishes can be customized to suit different needs. The Hytte can also be co-branded to match a clients’ existing aesthetic.
Each Hytte will be clad in shou sugi ban-treated larch to recede the buildings into the landscape.
Hytte's prefab construction allows for faster setup with lower site impact.
"I love the flexibility of the modular space: The same space can be used for sleeping, meetings, or yoga and meditation," says Teke. "The house is surrounded by decks, which further connect inside and outside, and I love that different times of day and seasons of the year create almost different microclimates on the decks. On the technical side, I enjoy how the house runs as a machine, a shell with all its mechanical needs housed in the core and underneath the structure for optimal flexibility, ease of adjustment, and efficiency of distribution."
The piston-operated pine sunshades lift upwards to protect the exterior deck and give residents the ability to manually modulate the home’s access to daylight and shade as the sun moves across the sky.
CNC-milled teak was used for almost all of the exterior, from the cladding and sunshades to the 430-square-foot exterior decks.
The laminated wood roof structure is topped with thermal insulation and waterproofing in addition to the copper enclosure.
"Prefabrication allows us to control quality while reducing error margins," explains Teke, who partly credits his interest in prefab to his work experience at Renzo Piano’s firm. "It helps us save time, reduce waste, and use materials to their maximum efficiency, allowing for a sustainable process of production—an easier and faster way to build."
The prefab roughly measures 35.5 feet by 15.7 feet and comprises an open kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom.
Designed to sit lightly on the land, the transportable MU50 prototype is nestled into a pine-covered cliff overlooking the Aegean Sea.
The three-bedroom Iniö model from Pluspuu features floor-to-ceiling windows, a loft-like interior, a wraparound deck, and a gable outline reminiscent of a traditional log cabin.
As the sun goes down, the small structure’s interior casts a cozy glow.
An aerial view of Kynttilä, which showcases its close proximity to the nearby lake.
“The inspiration for Kynttilä was fully derived from its unique setting,” the Helsinki-based firm states. “The place chosen for Kynttilä, in the middle of a pristine forest, on a narrow arm of the peninsula, provides views over the water in both sides of the cottage.”
Kynttilä, which translates to “candle,” is a wood-clad prefab cabin tucked away in an untouched forested area in Eastern Finland. The structure was recently built by ORTRAUM Architects.
The exterior of Site Shack is covered in steel panels that are bolted to the framing. Look closely and you won’t see any visible fasteners, as Powers Construction’s welder was fastidious, creating a seamless shell with just steel and glass.
Koto’s charred-timber workspace is an exercise in wabi-sabi design that embraces imperfection amid the natural world.  The carbon-neutral structure is built from natural materials, and it can operate both on- and off-grid.
The cabin rests on the grounds of the New Art Centre in Salisbury, England, where it joins a multitude of sculptural artworks.
The cabin appears to shift shape when viewed from each new angle.
Generous glazing comprises an entire side of the cabin, providing uninterrupted views of the surrounding landscape.
“The distinctive geometric form took hours of meticulous detailing to create,” says Koto.
Constructed with sustainably sourced lumber and large, double-pane windows, Studio Shed’s all-season Signature Series units are popularly used as backyard offices.
Helsinki architect Ville Hara and designer Linda Bergroth collaborated on this prefab shed-meets-sleeping-cabin, which can be assembled with little else than a screwdriver. Bergroth, inspired by nomadic yurt dwellers, wanted an indoor/outdoor experience for her property in Finland.
At 74 square meters (797 square feet), this variation of the Vinkelhuset line by Danish modular cabin designer Møn Huset is L-shaped in plan and hits all the right notes, boasting clean lines, a practical gabled roof, and simple, attractive detailing on the interior.
Founded in 1958 by the Finnish Saarelainen brothers in Eastern Finland, Honka—known as Honkarakenne in Finland—was the first industrial manufacturer of log houses. Today, the pioneer brand has built almost 85,000 houses across the globe, including a quaint Scottish retreat for the Queen of England in 1969. Pictured here is an exterior view of Kide, a sauna cabin located on the west coast of Finland.
Winner of the 2011 Log House of the Year Award, the 1,206-square-meter Lokki, which was designed by as architect Kari Lappalainen and furnished by interior designer Hanni Koroma, has an inverted pitch roof that’s inspired by seagull wings.
Set on a southeast-facing slope, the AB Cabin is fitted with double-glazed windows that frame views of the town of Taihape and rolling hills beyond.
"When we bought the property it was so inexpensive that we had naturally assumed that it would be off-grid," says Copeland. "But it turned out that some wastewater drainage had recently been installed by the local authority and that powerlines were close by."
Designed to sleep eight, the flexible cabin can be used as a quiet retreat for the couple or a gathering place for family and friends.
Concrete blocks lead up to an elevated timber deck with a sliding aluminum entrance door.
The AB Cabin is set in the middle of high country with Mount Ruapehu to the north and the Ruahine Ranges to the south. The building takes inspiration from the surrounding timber-framed houses and metal-clad farm buildings.
At under 100 square feet, the 8' x 12' Site Shack includes just the essentials: a wood-burning stove, a desk, and storage.
Land Ark RV used Cumaru—a renewable Brazilian hardwood—for the deck and the inset siding of this tiny home’s exterior. The deck can be raised and lowered for transport in two minutes via an interior switch.
A look at the back of the A-frame, which includes an entrance to the basement level. Here, you can see the detailing of the seamed metal roof, as well as the concrete foundation.
Nestled on a 7,405-square-foot lot in the Washington community of Snoqualmie Pass, the two-bedroom abode is conveniently located just a short drive from Seattle.
Heva was designed by A6A and manufactured by My Little Loft.  A spacious deck and large glass doors allow for seamless indoor/outdoor living.
The town of Vail has enlisted 359 Design's help to produce 32 affordable housing units in the Chamonix Vail project. The modular homes come in five different types and are fabricated in Idaho before being shipped to the site.
Created in collaboration with nonprofit Summit Huts Association, the Sister's Cabin by Colorado Timberframe is a timber ski hut perched atop Breckenridge's Baldy Mountain that can only be accessed by a 3.5-mile trek. Due to its remote location, the retreat operates entirely off-grid. It was built with prefabricated timber elements and SIPs airlifted to the site, and it features a luxurious interior that can accommodate 14 people.
Inspired by the Nordic aesthetic, Ilo is a minimalist, mono-pitched playhouse designed to provide shelter and immersion in nature.
Musician and interior designer August Hausman lives in a restored 1968 Airstream Land Yacht that once belonged to his father.
In addition to the use of prefab construction for minimal site impact, the modular steel-framed cabins are also fitted with low-E glass, green roofs, and are connected to an eco-friendly wastewater treatment system.
The luxe prefabricated hotel offers an almost off-grid experience and is fitted with a curated collection of Vipp products.
The salt-and-moisture-resistant timber structures were prefabricated in Windhoek and then transported to the site for final assembly.
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