The current pandemic has inspired more people to retreat from the world. In response to this new way of life, a team of students and researchers of the Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities of the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia’s Valldaura Labs has designed the Voxel Quarantine Cabin. The sustainable wooden retreat is tucked in the forest of Collserola natural park and is created as a one-person dwelling for self-confinement. Built in just five months, it’s constructed with cross-laminated timber panels made from 40 Aleppo Pine trees that were milled, dried, processed, and pressed on-site. Panels are held together by lap joints and wooden dowels and are coved in cork insulation. Offcuts from the processing of the raw pine boards were treated with the Japanese Shou Sugi Ban technique, while garden boxes cover the roof. Equipped with three solar panels and independent battery storage, rainwater collection systems, gray-water recycling, and black-water treatment, the getaway is completely self-sufficient and can accommodate one occupant for 14 days.
