Portable Home on Sleds

Auckland’s Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects have designed a macrocarpa-clad hut made with a requirement that all structures be removable. The hut measures 40 square metres and rests on two thick wooden sleds that allow it to be shifted around the Coromandel beachfront section. “From the outside, [the Whangapoua Sled House] looks like driftwood, or a worn artefact you might find washed up on the shore. But open the giant barn door on the front and the windows on the side, and a luminous, modern retreat appears. Inside, there’s a large room that serves as the kitchen, living and dining rooms, and in the back are two sleeping zones, one for the parents and another with a bunk bed for the kids. Bonus points: there’s a roof deck on top. And when they do have to flee, they just strap it to a tractor and ride away, house and all.”