Mention the Douglas Fir Plywood Association and you’re unlikely to conjure up notions of hip leisure living in swell modern digs. However, the Douglas Fir Plywood Association demonstrated an unexpected vision of modern prefab cabins blissfully coexisting with the natural environment when they published Second Homes for Leisure Living in the 1960s. The brochure is a collection of 16 mid century modern cabin plans by various architects including George Matsumoto, Frederick Liebhardt, David George and Henrik Bull . The fantastic illustrations by Bob Wandesforde evoke leisurely summers of suntanning, motor boating, and wildlife photography all within a horseshoe toss of a modern prefab cabin. This collection is terrific proof that the idea of contemporary design blending well with nature is nothing new, and may just be the perfect platform for enjoying nature in the best way possible.

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Technorati Tags:   architecture, Build a Cabin, Cabin Kits, cabin plans, modern cabin plans

At Form & Forest we spend a lot of time thinking of ways and means to make prefab architecture more accessible. It looks like Lego has us beat by a long shot with news that they are introducing two Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces to their architectural lineup. The Guggenheim model has been available since May 15 and none other than Fallingwater itself will be available sometime in July. So there you have it you’ll be able to build Fallingwater on your coffee table for $45 or so. Not so good for living in, but ideal for looking at, and perhaps the perfect excuse to play with Lego under the guise of serious architectural study. So if you want to build a prefab but are still waiting for the perfect lot to come available or the local authorities to approve your plans you can satisfy your immediate needs with Lego. Perhaps a series of Form & Forest Lego kits will be available in the future…. Lego are you listening?

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Technorati Tags:   architecture, Lego, prefab

Is the cabin an essential component to refining one’s genius? An especially strong argument for this opens in London today as part of the Royal Institute of British Architects Le Corbusier - The Art of Architecture survey. The RIBA is exhibiting a full scale model of Le Corbusier’s Cabanon . The micro cabin he built in Cap - Martin on the French Riviera in 1952. Designed in less than an hour and coming in at a mere 16 square meteres (about 172 square feet) the Cabanon was the only building this master architect of the 20th century built for himself. Corbusier referred to it as both "my castle on the Riviera" and " my smallest machine for living in"…"where not a square cm of space was wasted". The contrast of these statements one from another is equally matched by the contrast of the surprisingly modest shed like appearance of the outside with the extensively detailed interior. An interior that is both laboratory for Le Corbusier’s thesis of buildings as machines for living, and as a sensible place for a man and his wife to spend their summers. (more…)

Technorati Tags:   architecture, Build a Cabin, cabin life, Happiness, modernism, prefab cabins, small cabins

A while back we posted some sketch models that were part of the design process underway at D’arcy Jones Design . Since we have released both the Ranger and Cowboy it would only be natural to show the logical conclusion of these designs from the designer’s point of view. D’arcy has posted some really nice images of the finished concept models and elevations for both the Ranger and the Cowboy. These lovely models give you a real sense of the attention to detail that went into the development of these perfectly proportioned spaces. Looking at these makes me wonder if we shouldn’t be offering these models as a collection themselves.
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