These minimalist prefab cabins are designed for human “recharging"

by Nicole Jewell
(inhabitat.com)

Innovative charging stations for cars or electronics are a dime a dozen these days, but finally, one savvy Danish company has created a place where people can go to recharge their own batteries. Known for their simplistic metal and ceramic homeware line, Danish retailer Vipp is now venturing into the minimalistic dwellings sector with Shelter, a prefabricated monochromatic cabin designed to serve as an escape from urban chaos.

The 600-square-foot cabins, which retail for approximately $543,00, were designed to be nature retreats and serve as a “battery-charging station for humans”, said Kasper Egelund, head of VIPP. Much like the company’s simple, but sturdy housewares, the cabin design is elegant and minimalistic. The monochromatic metal and glass cabin easily blends into any natural setting. The rectangular structure is set on piers to reduce its impact on its location.

On the interior, a simple open layout gives the space a quiet, serene feel. The main level houses a kitchen, a dining area, a bathroom and a small bedroom with a fireplace. A sleeping loft with a glass ceiling is reached by ladder. Floor-to-ceiling glass panels cover one full side of the structure, which not only connects the interior to the exterior, but provides optimal natural light to the living space.

The steel-framed Shelter cabins are prefabricated just north of Copenhagen and take just six months to construct and only three to five days to install. The cabins even come furnished with Vipp products such as shelving, lighting, lines, soap dispensers, etc.