This unique home is inspired by the “Aircraft” in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book “Terre des Hommes.” Let’s know more interesting things about this place Bellerine Cabin.
Bellerine Cabin
Architects: Cloux Architecture
Location: Bex, Switzerland
Area: 65 m²
Year: 2020
Locate in the most beautiful part of the world, Bex, Switzerland, Bellarine Cabin is a vacation/residential home.
This is inspire by the famous aviation novel “Terre des Hommes (Wind, Sand, and Stars in English). Written by French aristocrat aviator-writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, this book is all about the journey of various events of his life.
Inspire by the stories, Béllerine Cabin was recently constructed in 2020 by Cloux Architecture. This house is arranged around the fireplace. It is not wrong to say that this is an evolution of a primitive shelter.
The structure is located on a summer pasture in the Swiss Alps, 1,070m above sea level. It is covered by the beautiful views of the valley of the Rhône and Lake Léman.
What would you do if you were trapped in a place without water and electricity? How will you live in these circumstances? This house is built while considering these things. If you want to live a tranquil and adventurous life, you can stay in this house.
This wood cabin is fully autonomous with regard to water and electricity. Also, the heat is generated from a fireplace burning wood source from the forest within the plot. Pretty interesting, right?
About The House
David Cloux and Pavla Cloux were the main architects of this project. They want to create a cavern-like room with a central fireplace near the valley. Where all the radiating heat will be absorbed and stored by considerable internal mass.
You’ll be surprised to know that the same mass keeps the house cool in the hot summer months!
This wood cabin is a little different from the other vacation or living places. Here. You have to do everything, instead of using all the modern facilities. From lighting on the fire to getting the water from the lake, you have to do every living task all by yourself.
According to the architect, “The project explores an antithesis to automation by focusing on human input.”
The experience is pretty similar to camping. If you want to live here and want comfort, you should be ready to do all these chores.
Another amazing thing to experience here in the Rain. Yes, when it rains, the sound of drops falling on the shingle roof appears like water pearls are going down the overhanging eaves. It’s very soothing to hear!
Exteriors
When you see the interiors and exteriors, you’ll get to know that every material is carefully chosen. You’ll be amazed to know that the timber frame was assembled in under a day! Yes, even though it was fabricated and insulated (wood fiber insulation) 5 miles off-site yet it was installed in a single day.
The cement in the building construction was also produced less than 10 miles away. The roof is covered with split European larch shingles. Both the internal cladding (20 mm x 20mm slats) as well as the external cladding (25 mm x 25 mm slats) were manufactured in a nearby mill.
The cladding is placed vertically, and it is well-ventilated. The shingles and cladding were left untreated. The reason behind this is that when Larch shingles are split, they offer strong resistance. This is actually an old technique, and it has been use for thousands of years.
The wild cherry and sycamore trees on the west side of the house are important in the thermal strategy. They help to let the sunlight through in winter for solar gain. Whereas in summer they provide enough shade.
Interiors
All the furnishings in Bellerine Cabin are minimal because they don’t distract the resident from enjoying the neighborhood’s dramatic and ever-changing views. Believe me, the lifestyle here is way more luxurious than the big mansions. It’ll give you and your soul true comfortness.
Lifestyle In Bellerine Cabin
Living here is more focus on human input. It is a home for relaxation and comfort, yet you have to do small daily chores such as chopping wood, clearing the ashes from the fireplace, and greasing the stovetop after cooking. All these things will create a relationship with the shelter, and eventually, you’ll start loving this place.
These small daily tasks are meaningful, and they’ll provide more satisfaction than relaxation! “When you’re cooking a meal on a log burning stove, at the same time with that heat, hot water is getting ready for a shower” things like links make this house a brilliant masterpiece of construction.
Final Words
This Bellerine Cabin in Bex, Switzerland, is an ideal example of how you can live comfortably without modern technology. With minimal design and furnishings, this is a perfect place for living in silence, without any disturbance. While doing the small regular house chores, you can enjoy the beauty of nature.
I hope you like this blog and also don’t forget to share it with your friends and family whole love to explore architecture.
In case you missed it!