16
Jun

Cozy Concrete Cabin in the Alps

Get close, you’ll realize that this is not a log but a solid concrete cabin

From a distance, you’d think the Refugi Liepthaus in the Alps was just another quaint log cabin. But if you get close, you’ll realize that the ridges on the walls are not logs but a beautiful brutalist exterior. It’s awesome.

concrete cabin
Photo Credit: Ralph Feiner via Urlaubs Architektur

Refugi Liepthaus is an award-winning house designed by Nickisch Sano Walder Architekten in Flims, Switzerland. The site actually used to be the home to a historic (presumably beyond repair) all-wood barn, but the architects replaced it with this all-concrete creation last year. Pouring concrete, after all, is usually cheaper than restoring historic wood structures.

concrete cabin exterior
Photo Credit: Ralph Feiner via Urlaubs Architektur

Impressions of the original structure can still be seen on the building’s exterior where the old logs were used for the concrete mould so that the grain of the wood is visible in the finished material. Urlaubs Arkitektur, a vacation home rental service that specialises in unique houses and currently rents the concrete cabin, describes the effect as “a fossilized version of the old barn.”

concrete cabin interior
Photo Credit: Ralph Feiner via Urlaubs Architektur

The cabin sure is a pretty fossil, too. Inside, the cold, clean lines of the concrete make for an aesthetic that feels almost futuristic. With a fireplace on one end and a bedroom on the other end, the cabin’s layout is delightfully simple. It’s most definitely an excellent honeymoon destination for a couple of nihilists looking to escape. The only thing missing is the warm, piney smell of the logs. But hey, that’s what fires are for.

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