Resolving the problems of the shrinking, aging population of villages with few job opportunities is one of the challenges Hungary needs to tackle. The development of tourism in rural, peripheral areas, attracting visitors, creating jobs for local people, and boosting the local economy can be key to this issue. As a result, Hello Wood Studio has decided to act. Hello Wood decided to design a project partnering up with TreeHouses, creator of the widely popular cabins in Noszvaj. Together they have created unique “Rock” houses in Csóromfölde. The area is a former farmstead in Hungary that has been the site of architectural education programs and festivals previously, providing a mystical atmosphere.
The aim of Hello Wood and TreeHouses was to build a cabin resort that blends in perfectly with the landscape of fields and hills. The organic shape of the cabins creates a link between the natural and the built environment. The use of wood for the houses suggests closeness to nature, reminiscent of the materials that were always present in traditional architecture in this area. Altogether, six unique cabins were built on the land.
The cabins were built with the necessary additional buildings such as reception and catering pods. While attempting to maximize the comfort of the guests, the team behind the project created a sustainable resort using mainly wood as a construction material. According to the architects, during the construction phase, the main intention was to prefabricate as many elements as possible, minimizing on-site construction work. Thanks to its cladding, the structure can be heated and cooled with minimal energy consumption.
The buildings are designed to offer a high level of comfort and relaxation for a couple, with the apartments having their own kitchen, dining area, and shower directly connected to the infrared sauna. Each cabin has a large terrace facing the panorama, equipped with a jacuzzi for 2 people. To give it a spa touch, a large hot tub is built into the spacious, covered terrace, which is separated only by a glass window from the sauna that has direct access to the shower. To ensure an intimate and carefree experience, the cabins are positioned facing away from each other, looking at the surrounding fields and rolling hills. Guests can enjoy the panoramic views from the terrace – even from the hot tub or the glass-walled sauna as well as from the bed.
Surrounded by rolling hills and close to Kapolcs, flocks of a nearby farmstead had been feeding in Csóromfölde for centuries. The program of Hello Wood has given a new life to the old settlement: even a temporary village was constructed by architecture students, within the framework of the international summer camps.
The Hello Wood design team has created buildings that reverberate the magic of the age-old settlement surrounded by farmland and blend with nature. The monolithic character of the cabins that evokes giant runestones is enhanced by the building masses opening only at the terrace and the entrance: the homogeneous, sculptural form is not interrupted by any windows, doors, or staircases. Irregular planes and vertices define a shape resembling a polished stone, which is made even more distinctive by the paneling, its unique shade, and its metallic sheen. Contrasting the grey shell, the golden brown of the terrace and interior is revealed like the inside of a cracked geode.
Hello Wood has won a number of various awards including BigSee Architecture Awards in 2022, Winner Architizer A+ Awards in 2021, and more. Recently the project of the Rock Cabins has become the winner of the architectural design in the hospitality category for the BLT Built Design Awards.
