meaningless architecture’s meditation cabin lights up like a lantern in french woodlands

a lightweight and luminous meditation cabin in france

Meaningless Architecture’s Meditation Cabin in France is conceived as a ‘light’ paper cage. This has two meanings, as its designers Jiaojiao Miao and Qitao Yang describe, one being luminosity, and the other the antonym of heavy. The cantilevered structure, lightweight and stable, is formed using minimal wood, with integrated maintenance to ensure privacy. A lower opening forms the entrance, placed at the corner to leave more space inside, while the height of the floor is also released, allowing the wooden house to be made smaller.

The roof is cut obliquely to enjoy the distant view. During the day, the cabin is used as a place for meditation and rest, and the sun and the shadows of the trees paint intricate forms across its surfaces. As the sky darkens, it becomes illuminated from within, and through the canvas the cabin appears to perch like a delicate paper lantern in the woods.

all images courtesy of Jiaojiao Miao

meaningless architecture creates a meditative resting spot

‘We squat down from the path and walk under the cabin, climb up the ladder to the floor, and then climb to the meditation space,’ note the architects. Given the large slope of the site and the small size of the cabin, some unconventional and unique behavioral experiences are formed here. Visitors can stand and stick their head out to see the scenery in the distance, sit down to rest and look up at the sky, or sit on the fallen leaves and feel the light in the distance. In this way, the floor becomes the roof, and the structure is introverted.

To form the structure in the woodlands, Meaningless Architecture used the local abundant fir wood and built it together with local volunteers. Due to budget and time constraints, they only used 0.73 cubed meters of the natural material and completed the construction within a week.

the Meditation Cabin rests under the shade of trees

a cut through the top allows visitors to stick their head out to view the scenery in the distance

a lightweight and luminous cabin in France

the shadows of the trees are sprinkled on the walls and the floor

the cantilevered structure, lightweight and stable, is formed using minimal wood

a lower opening forms the entrance, placed at the corner to leave more space inside

sitting and looking up, you can see the leaves and the sky

as the sky darkens, the cabin is illuminated from within like a paper lantern in the woods

project info:

name: Meditation Cabin

architect: Meaningless Architecture
design team: Jiaojiao Miao, Qitao Yang

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom

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