The log cabin in the sky! Architects design rooftop retreat measuring just nine meters square for escaping stress of the city (but be warned, there's no bathroom)

  • Cabin has been designed by Panos Dragonas and Varvara Christopoulou
  • The structure is elevated above the city's rooftop landscape on four stilts
  • The space contains a raised sleeping area and a small desk area
  • Architects say it could be perfect for sleeping, meditating in the city

By Simon Cable for MailOnline

Published: 07:29 EST, 12 January 2015 | Updated: 09:14 EST, 12 January 2015

At first glance it looks rather like a glorified garden shed.

But this wooden cabin could be the future of city living, according to the Greek architects who designed it.

Designers Panos Dragonas and Varvara Christopoulou believe there are fewer places remote enough to build a wilderness hideaway, so have instead proposed a cabin raised above the Athens rooftops.

Greek architects Panos Dragonas and Varvara Christopoulou have designed a cabin that is raised above the Athens rooftops

Greek architects Panos Dragonas and Varvara Christopoulou have designed a cabin that is raised above the Athens rooftops

They say it could be perfect for sleeping, meditating and relaxing while staying in the city. 

As the world becomes increasingly urbanised, and digital mapping extends across deserts and jungles, there can be no more unexplored corners of the globe for a traveller to retreat to, say the pair, who are founders of Dragonas Christopoulou Architects.

They say the structure, named Detached and which comprises a small cabin of just nine square metres, allows the contemporary city dweller to escape a taxing daily routine without having to venture into the wilderness.

It is elevated above the city's rooftop landscape on four stilts. The cabin has not yet been built, and is only at the design stage.

They say the structure, named Detached and which comprises a small cabin of just nine square metres, allows the contemporary city dweller to escape a taxing daily routine without venturing into the wilderness

They say the structure, named Detached and which comprises a small cabin of just nine square metres, allows the contemporary city dweller to escape a taxing daily routine without venturing into the wilderness

‘During the 21st century, there are no remote locations,’ said Dragonas and Christopoulou.

‘The planet has been explored and digitally mapped in every latitude and longitude. The media and social networks bring the public sphere in every corner of the world.

‘The indisputable dominance of the urban condition and the exploitation of the countryside, are shifting the quest for new heterotopic structures in the urban area.’

Covering only the basic living needs, the space would contain a raised sleeping area and a stepped floor that frames a desk

Covering only the basic living needs, the space would contain a raised sleeping area and a stepped floor that frames a desk

Dragonas and Christopoulou imagine the cabin perched on top of a Greek apartment building known as a polykatoikia

Dragonas and Christopoulou imagine the cabin perched on top of a Greek apartment building known as a polykatoikia

Dragonas and Christopoulou imagine the cabin perched on top of a Greek apartment building known as a polykatoikia.

Covering only the basic living needs, the space would contain a raised sleeping area and a stepped floor that frames a desk.

The project was commissioned as part of an exhibition entitled The Minimum Structure.

The pair added: ‘The new structure allows for the minimum detachment from the suffocating environment of the contemporary Greek city. 

'The urban hut creates a voluntary isolation cell over the ruins of the new Great Depression.’

 

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