Just Add Nature: You Can Buy This ‘Plug and Play’ Prefab Getaway Online
Danish home goods manufacturer Vipp, known for their sleek, modern trash bins and kitchen kit, has recently expanded their product line beyond iconic interiors with a thoroughly contemporary prefabricated dwelling that can be purchased online and delivered in six months’ time to the bucolic site of your choosing.
Vipp’s distinctive kitchen modules
The aforementioned trash cans are a classic design, dating back to the prototype created by company founder Holger Nielsen in 1939. Much more recently, the company began offering a line of stunning matte-black kitchen units that incorporate their signature monochrome look and industrial-chic curved handles.
Dubbed “Shelter,” the latest offering by the design-savvy Danes takes the Vipp sensibility even further. The 590-square-foot, all-inclusive prefabricated getaway house was intended for duty as a readymade nest for weekends in the woods. Described by its creators as “neither a house nor a mobile home,” Shelter is a “spacious, functional…and livable industrial object.”
The concept is not a new one. After all, the Sears Modern Home, a staple of the first half of the American 20th century, was a “kit house” that could be ordered up through a catalog and shipped via railroad boxcars. We’ve been hearing lots of buzz about Japanese covetable home and travel goods purveyor Muji’s plans to stock a buy-it-now prefab designed by notable architect Shigeru Ban along with their usual wares, but as far as the mouse-clicking public is concerned, the house remains in the prototype stage.
Vipp chief designer Morten Bo Jensen says Shelter was “inspired by large volume object[s] such as planes, ferries, submarines.” And, indeed, from the outside, the diminutive rectangular structure evokes a combination of tiny modern house in the woods, vintage tank (note the riveted matte black skin covering the top), and modernist outdoor grill.
This Swiss army knife of a contemporary cabin features an all-inclusive design that incorporates the Vipp signature matte steel processing into its façade, frame, and interiors. Everything’s accounted for, starting with furniture, kitchen appliances, and bath fixtures (all top-quality brands like Smeg, Miele and Duravit) right down to linens, towels, plates, and soap dispensers.
A simple steel grid supports the two-level space;Â a bathroom and sleeping loft are shielded from the main space. The facade incorporates sleek floor-to-ceiling sliding glass panels, and transparent panes comprise the roof above the sleeping loft. From within this glass-lined shell, the distinction between indoor and outdoor space is blurred; yet the windows also provide substantial shelter from icy northern winters.
Shelter being installed onsite
The company explains what to expect when your six-month wait is over. Designers and engineers have tightly defined the construction and material requirements; prefabrication is an essential criteria in the building, allowing it to be installed within a few days without the usual lengthy process required for a construction site.
Let’s say your credit card’s out and you’re ready to pull the trigger. The price for the Vipp shelter, including all interior finishes and details, is 485,000 Euro/$585,000. There’s also a freight/installation charge of 12-15 percent (depending on your location). Production occurs in Frederiksværk, Denmark and is estimated to take approximately five to six months. Installation takes three to five days. Your local contractor–who must confirm site compliance with the product’s technical info guidelines–will “be in direct contact with a dedicated expert from the Vipp Shelter department” throughout the process.
[Via Architizer via Curbed]
[Vipp Shelter official site]
Images courtesy of Vipp.
