The versatile wooden cabin, ANNA Stay, from the Dutch designer Caspar Schols, has won the internationally acclaimed 2021 Architizer A+Awards Project of the Year Award. The architectural award follows ANNA Stay’s selection as the Jury Winner in the Architecture +Living Small category.
Designed for living within the elements through the configuration of its layers, cabin ANNA Stay is a dynamic wooden home in the shape of an open platform, enabling adjustments to its wooden exterior and glass interior to adapt to any occasion, mood, or weather condition.
“We are very pleased to receive this A+ Awards Project of the Year Award. Being recognized with this prestigious award is a great honour,” says Schols. “With ANNA Stay, we want to invite people to experience living outdoors, and to create a deeper connection with nature, self, and others. We believe that the enhancement of this sensitivity will result in more love and care for nature, the planet, and for people at large.”
Living with nature
The idea of cabin ANNA Stay is derived from a desire to live with nature’s elements, rather than shielding them off. “It’s primarily about being outside, and about creating a dynamic interaction between yourself, cabin ANNA as your home, and nature,” explains Schols.
The cabin has two different ‘shells’ as outer walls, supported on rails. The inner wall, consisting of a framework of wood and glass, is separated from the roofed, wooden outer wall. By shifting the shells and the glass framework, different setups are possible. “Just as you adjust your clothes to suit the weather, your mood, or the occasion,” Schols continues.
ANNA’s ability to adapt and change enables its inhabitants to follow their senses. “She gives the freedom to live among an abundance of life, and cultivates a sense of belonging. You become part of everything around you, and I believe that everyone recognizes that feeling deeply from within.” Schols says.
Structure
ANNA Stay derives its stability from a unique structure that has its origin in buildings such as railway stations, which rely only on the side walls for structural integrity. That’s where the beautifully crafted wooden trusses come from.
Materials
For the construction only high quality natural materials are used. The outside is made of sustainable Siberian larch wood. On the inside, birch plywood has been used for high quality and its light colour. Most wood is left untreated and saw dust is used for insulation. The two layers are carried by eight industrial wheels, supported on rails.
Facilities
ANNA Stay comes with an indoor bathroom with shower and separate flush toilet, a fully furnished kitchen and plenty of storage space. A bathtub is integrated in the floor area. ANNA provides room for up to 2 king-size beds. ANNA Stay can be equipped with a central heating installation. The cabin is also available in a self-sufficient off-grid version including a fire heated boiler, a solar energy system and water waste treatment system.
Assembly
The cabin is manufactured to minimize time on-site. On-site work is done by an electric spider crane. The whole cabin can be remounted and relocated any time. In flatpack ANNA Stay can technically be built at any location in the world.
Foundation
Due to its quick assembly it is suitable for the most secluded areas. The cabin is surprisingly light so, in most cases, does not need a foundation. Some soil types may require a screw foundation.
Transportation
ANNA Stay is a reproducible cabin that can be flexibly assembled and disassembled anywhere in the world. The cabin is designed so that it can be delivered either in one piece or as a flatpack fitted in a container.
Specifications
Area of cabin incl. terrace: 55.4 m2 or 596.3 ft2
Entresol floor area: ca. 8 m2 or 86.1 ft2
Usable covered floor area: 13.7 – 47.9 m2 or 147.4 – 515.5 ft2
Weight: ca. 9 tons
Height of cabin: 4.5 m or 14.7 ft
Dimensions of base incl. terrace: 12.8 m X 4.3 m or 42 ft X 14.1 ft
Price range is estimated between €150.000 and €200.000.
