This chestnut-clad home by Pad Studio was prefabricated offsite before being craned into a clearing in the New Forest, a stretch of protected woodland in the English county of Hampshire.
The clients had been living in a static caravan on the five-acre site for 15 years, but approached the local practice to upgrade their home.
The result is a modest, timber-clad cabin named Forest Lodge, which still technically qualifies as a caravan.
"A key requirement of their brief was to create a new, very low-energy dwelling, flooded with light and with a strong connection to the surrounding landscape," said managing director Wendy Perring.
"Importantly, the new dwelling should not resemble or feel like a mobile home."
The site came with stringent planning controls due to the New Forest's national park status. These regulations aim to prevent damage to the site's 200 square miles of grassland, woodland and heath – which provide a habitat for its famous pony colony.
The building had to adhere to the Caravan Act 1968, restricting its length to 20 metres and its width to less than seven metres.
The structure was prefabricated at a workshop in Yorkshire and craned into position in two separate parts. This means it can also be removed in the same way at a later date.
The structure is largely clad in horizontal planks of untreated chestnut, but vertical sections of cladding made from dark-stained sweet chestnut add variety to the facade.
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