Woodland Cabin, Nouvelles, Belgium
De Rosee Sa recently completed a magical lakeside cabin on the edge of woodlands in the village of Nouvelles, Belgium. A self-build project, the new 35 m2 cabin replaces an old dilapidated timber structure.
The brief was to create a woodland cabin that could function as a picnic & BBQ venue, a guesthouse and a studio. It needed to be lightweight, simple & economical. Furthermore it had to be built of timber beams and cladding that had been milled from trees in the surrounding woods by Max de Rosee’s father.
To capture the surrounding natural beauty, its openings respond to the outside views and approaches to the cabin. The internal space has been designed for various uses including working, sleeping and socialising, and is heated by a wood burning stove.
Working within the £25,000 budget, De Rosee Sa Architects undertook the construction of the cabin themselves during various trips over to Belgium. Materials used include concrete strip foundations, a suspended timber floor on brick dwarf walls, external timber cladding, which had been specially treated, and internal OSB cladding.
Max de Rosee, Director of De Rosee Sa, said: “We have been working on this cabin for what seems like many years. It feels great to see it finished as we not only designed it but shed a lot of sweat and the occasional bit of blood by erecting it ourselves. My father has a passion for the natural environment; it was his idea to mill trees that had been ravaged by a storm some 7 or 8 years ago and build a cabin from them. The trips to Belgium have been a chance to bond as an office, further our understanding of materials and construction, and increase our respect for builders.”
