Pile of Logs, or Cleverly Hidden Cabin?

Anything but your conventional log cabin home, one might see this structure atop a mountain or on a lake and and think it a pile of rough-cut wood logs rather than a cleverly camouflaged modular living and work space.

Designed by Piet Hein Eek for musician Hans Linberg, the ‘logs’ are merely a wood building facade covering a prefabricated plastic and steel frame. The ‘cabin’ is actually a recording studio for now, but would work just well as a mobile forest home or disguised hunting blind.

Rectangular in overall shape with likewise angular window openings, this seems to have little in common with traditional cabins but then again: many modern cabins are likewise built with fake facades – this one simply shows off its artificial nature more overtly.
It might just be a novelty for some people, but a camouflaged cabin like this can come in handy for less-than-legal applications, whether you want to get away with building a retreat on public land or having an off-grid cabin without a permit.


From ICON Magazine:
“The tree-trunk exterior encases a steel frame salvaged from a builders’ yard. The facade is made up of small cross-sections of tree trunk, arranged and positioned by hand then fixed with glue and copper brackets. This puzzling effect extends over the window-covers to complete the log-pile illusion when the cabin is unoccupied.


The plywood interior – Eek uses the cheapest variety as “it has the richest texture” – is an unexpected contrast to the exterior. It is modern and clean with pale-blue walls that work with the panoramic shuttered windows to give the room a bright and fresh feel.”
“Colorful bespoke upholstery, minimalist storage and simple furniture complete the perfect space for long working hours. The latest in a series of log cabins and garden houses from the designer who made his name with scrap-wood furniture, this project is pure Eek. The cabin is on wheels to bypass building regulations.”