Modern Cabins: Return to the Wild

Dev Desai founded DDAA (Dev Desai Architects and Associates) in 2020, an offshoot from a firm that specialises in residential villas and interiors. His formative development as an architect was under the guidance of Pritzker Laureate Toyo Ito and associates (Japan) and Vo Trong Nghia Architects (Vietnam). Both continue to have a strong influence on his work. As a young and dynamic studio, DDAA constantly challenges the threshold of architectural design through a contemporary unique language. One of the initial projects under DDAA was the design development of a tiny cabin on a coffee estate, as an alternative way of living during the pandemic. To minimise the ecological impact, the cabin was prefabricated and assembled within 4 weeks on-site. What started as a humble architectural project has now evolved into a series of prefabricated cabin designs and an eco-resort where 15 of such cabins will be built on the estate. Desai also founded Re-Build, a research venture that addresses the challenges in conventional prefab, and merges the power of digital fabrication to amortise the cost of construction, reduce the dependence on manual labour, eliminate the need for heavy machinery, and reduce the time for assembly to a few days. The connection with nature and the desire to push the boundaries of architecture and construction are the guiding principles behind his work.

Chapters: Forest, Water, Mountain, Rural Forest Cabin Moss - Koszeg, Hungary Cabin on a Rock - White Mountains, New Hampshire, USA Kynttila - Finland Maidla Nature Villa - Maidla Village, Rapla County, Estonia Niliaitta prototype - Kivijarvi, Finland Woodnest - Finland Woven House - tbc Ashen Cabin - Ithaca, NY Oak Cabin - Dartmoor, Devon, UK Forest Glamp - Quebec, Canada Huaira - tbc Water Bow House - Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil Cabin ANNA - Schaijk, The Netherlands Cabin Rones - tbc Lucia Smart (Smart Lucia) - Iisalmi and Sotkamo, Finland The Filmmaker's Hut - Iisalmi, Finland Majamaja Wuorio Eco-Cabin - tbc Project OE - Archipelago National Park, Finland 72h Cabin - TASERUD-ARVIKA OESTRA, SWEDEN Mountain Dagsturhytter - Finland Mountaineer's Refuge - Comuna de San esteban, V region, Chile Tungstolen Hiking Cabin - tbc Cabin A24 - Coorg, India Space of Mind - Porvoo, Finland Rural Gawthorne's Hut - Mudgee, NSW, Australia Holly Water Cabin - Devon, UK Indigo Cabin - Barchem, the Netherlands Wood and Mountain Cabin - Mae Rim, Chiangmai, Thailand Bruny Island Hideaway (Cabin) - Bruny Island, Tasmania Guincho TOW - Alentejo, Portugal Ursa TOW - Cascais, Portugal Koto Muutama Prefabricated Cabin - Belfast, Northern Ireland Tini XS - Plasencia, Spain Gamestation Cabin - Budapest Hungary Wauhaus - Csaford, Hungary