The Sod-Lam Trekking Cabin
International Design Competition
Short-term Housing
Iceland
2016
700 sf
**Winner of the American Institute of Architects’ DC Chapter Unbuilt Awards, 2017**
Credits
Project Text
With a landscape of lava fields, hot springs, mountains and glaciers, Iceland is a land filled with legends, as well as some of the most beautiful and rugged terrain on Earth. In this setting CDS NORD Property Developers were looking to construct a series of modern trekking cabins located in various spots across some of Iceland’s most famous trekking paths. We were tasked with creating a clever and inventive design for the trekking cabin that can be duplicated in all sorts of terrain, helping improve access to harder to reach areas of this incredible country.
The Sod-Lam Trekking Cabin aims to be representative of Iceland’s identity, with a design aesthetic that could become an icon on its own. The cabin’s purpose is to provide safe, comfortable and inviting lodgings. It is a place where trekkers and their guides can rest, refuel and, if necessary, wait out troublesome weather.
The Sod-Lam Trekking Cabin builds on the lineage of Icelandic vernacular architecture and the intuition to use the earth as thermal protection in the colder arctic climate. This project uses layers of sod that are up to .5m thick to form the trekking cabin’s thermal envelope. Supporting this living, thermal envelope will be a laminated reclaimed wood shell.
Sod-Lam is a vertical trekking cabin made from layers of earth and trees. The cabin takes the approach of minimal footprint. It goes up rather than out and only occupies 120 sq. ft. of Iceland’s ground plane. This allows it to adapt to various rugged terrain conditions with minimal disruption to the land. Made of all natural materials these cabins will eventually return to earth demonstrating the common trekker ethos of “leave nothing but footprints.”
The sleeping, bathing, and storage spaces then ascend into the air, giving hikers new views of Iceland’s memorizing landscape. Five levels of sleeping bunks can provide repose for up to 10 trekkers. The sleeping quarters spiral around a central wood fireplace below and skylight to the stars above.
Design
Seth McDowell
