Portable Crate-Like Cabins

One has to admire what many contemporary architects of Australia and New Zealand have been practicing with their homes in less affected landscapes. Projects like the Whangapoua Sled House stand on light feet and assert a profound respect for their natural settings.

Noticeably compact, this Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects beach house actually incorporates tracks into its base, allowing the entire abode to be towed up and down the coast. A useful trait for a vacation home, as preference changes and as the topography erodes and alters over time. This sense of mobility is further explored in Whangapoua Sled House through its boxy form and timber cladding. Shut up like a wooden chest in the off-season, the Kiwi dwelling can be opened up again by massive shutters, letting the summer sun flood inside.