We decided to design a “Cabin for the Tropics” made for outdoor living that basically spits into a sleeping area and 2 partly covered and partly enclosed terraces. The protruding sleeping area provides for 2 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms and a kitchen cupboard. One terrace is mend as an open kitchen-dining terrace with adjoining terrace for out-door dining. The other lower terrace is the living area that extend into a protruding partly covered terrace.

 

The best way to prevent heat build-up in the tropics from intense sunshine year-round is to use only lightweight building materials that accumulate as little heat as possible e.a. wood and to use reflective insulation in roofs and facades.  Besides being made mainly of wood the cabin makes optimal use of wind flows and the protruding roof provides ample shading. 

 

To preserve the unspoiled accentuated terrain and prevent warming up the Cabin is raised on stilts, also to capture extra wind and to enhance the outdoor way of living. The open-plan layout provides unobstructed views of the surroundings and makes optimal use of the prevailing winds that blow day and night all year long.

 

An open steel framework provides for the main structural skeleton of the cabin. Mainly Accoya wood is used for floors, screens and coffering of the closed facades with batons.  Accoya being one of the most sustainable wood product that is termite resistant too. The sun reflectant and insulated aluminum roof extends on all sides in order to bring maximum shadow during the day.  To prevent the early morning and late afternoon sun to enter the cabin the living and sleeping areas can be protected with movable screens made up of a glass filled frame covered with vertical Accoya batons that make it possible to close off the cabin completely during the night and give a more intimate atmosphere at night as well.

 

Most facades have build-in glass louvres covered with Accoya batons to regulate the wind flow thru the cabin during day and night in combination with sun protection and providing burglar control. The cabin will be mainly prefabricated in The Netherlands and shipped to Bonaire to be erected locally within a few weeks. The architects are looking into the possibility to turn their design into a turnkey cabin that can be send all over the world to other tropical destinations. 

 

The openness of the plan in combination with the movable facades makes it possible to experience outdoor  living in the tropics on a moderate layout of just 200m2 while living light on the land.