MIND NEST
CABINS
Location
Riga, Latvia
Type
Competition
Year
2018
Team
Begum Aydinoglu in Collaboration with Meissam Sedigh and Ecem Ezmeci
Mind Nest blurs the limit between a human being and nature, instead of isolating from nature it involves the occupant to the forest, making it part of the ecosystem. For a silent meditation practice, it allows for the occupant to hear the rain, feel the sun, touch the snow while meditating without leaving the cabin as the walls are foldable and lead to spacious terraces.
Concept
Mind Nest mimics the existing forest verticality by having vertical columns as the main structure. These columns could be located both in land and water, easily multiplied and the modular pieces of the cabin could be assembled on top of the columns. In some conditions, existing strong trees could serve as the vertical column to reduce the use of material and to maximize the engagement with nature. This encourages domestic densification in the vertical dimension and supports the benefit of separating the functional spaces and leave the conventional living accustomedness. Mind Nest aims to provide an unusual experience in terms of living and meditating, that is not existing in the modern living conditions. For that reason, the cabin encourages domestic densification in the vertical dimension. This supports the benefits of co-location of functions while helping to reduce the settlement footprint on the land.
Mind Nest uses maximum privacy by lifting the building from the ground and by having foldable walls that leads to different sights. This allows a single occupant to benefit from different lighting and weather condition potentials during the visit. It is adaptable to day and night conditions.
Mind Nest cabin is self-sufficient regarding power and water supply. Rain and solar energy are collected through the ground and stored in the embedded cistern and batteries. Fireplace also acts as part of the heating system. The thermal solar panel on the roof generates hot water and the waste from the toilet is collected in the septic tank.