Switzerland-based architecture firm Leopold Banchini Architects has never been one to shy away from bold projects that use simple materials and geometric shapes in exceptional and unexpected ways. The firm’s past houses, apartments, and commercial facilities like the Moon Ra hut and Al Naseej Textile Factory have managed to look simultaneously rustic and otherworldly, as if the architects fast-forwarded to a much greener and more sustainable future. Their latest, the Marra Marra Shack, takes an even more relaxed approach that’s nonetheless striking in its simplicity.
Set along the Marra Marra Creek in New South Wales, Australia, this off-grid cabin draws from the area’s fascinating history and makes smart use of a plentiful local material: repurposed 200-year-old electrical posts made of ironbark timber. From the outside, the cabin’s square, window-covered facade and large awning give it a modest and understated appearance. But not only is the inside a study in minimalist beauty — the whole project is an exercise in respect for the land, its history, and the Darug People to whom it traditionally belongs.
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