MINI LIVING + freelandbuck's urban cabin offers living quality within 15m2

the 2018 los angeles design festival has begun and with it, one of the most anticipated installations has opened its doors: the MINI LIVING urban cabin. the new site-specific installation, which resides on the rooftop of the ROW DTLA, is the first in the series to house overnight guests. it follows the project that started in 2017, with stops in london and at A/D/O, brooklyn, NYC.

all images by laurian ghinitoiu

‘we’re working on our own very distinct interpretation of co-living. our aim is to enable a genuine sense of community, opening doors and creating public space,’ explains esther bahne, head of strategy and innovation MINI. ‘our installations and visionary formats seek to explore a whole new range of possibilities in the creative use of space, and we’re now putting what we’ve learned into practice in the form of real-life construction projects.’

MINI’s urban cabin is a continuous installation project comprised of a small living unit that travels to various locations across the world, adapted for each city by local architects. each variation is designed with limited space and inspired by local surroundings, demonstrating creative approaches to the challenge of saving space while creating unique identities. the concept has been designed to demonstrate how a living space can be smart and flexible while, at the same time, make its inhabitants feel at home.

the LA cabin, with a footprint of just 15-square-meters, is a downtown oasis that allows visitors to embrace nature at the heart of the city. furthermore, the design focuses on enhancing a collective experience, rather than concentrating on just the domestic needs of one occupant.

this collective and open spirit is exactly what freelandbuck furthers with their part of the unique, locally-inspired urban cabin. by extending the perceptual boundaries and the contemplative life of a living space through spatial effects and experimental material assemblies, visitors can look and experience a transforming piece of architecture. two nested boxes, constructed with aluminum framing, are wrapped in translucent polycarbonate printed with the image of a third box that appears to be projected through the structure. the three-dimensional graphic surfaces vary between graphic alignment and kaleidoscopic effects as one moves around and through them. the indoor/outdoor quality created by the translucent skin is accentuated by a hanging garden which forms another cubic volume suspended from the enclosure.

on each side of freelandbuck’s kaleidoscopic experience room, the urban cabin features two outer modules: one for living and sleeping; the bathroom and kitchen on the other. the MINI LIVING design team have created these areas with a perforated metal facade on the exterior. as sunlight shines through the material, as well as the sporadic holes cut into the interior’s wooden cladding, varying mesmerizing and characterful patterns shimmer upon the floors and walls. making creative use of space down to the last, smart detail, the cabin features many space-saving solutions, such as push, fold and rotate mechanisms to further open the architecture to the environment and allow residents to adapt the space to their needs.

the MINI LIVING urban cabin will be open from june 8 – 10 during the LA design festival 2018. after the event, the urban cabin will continue its global tour, heading for beijing next and then onward to tokyo.