Biokabin: our modular eco-home to snap & build in backyard, Nature

Wow, more sheep. Can you believe that's a house, Ximena? That roof? Over the past two decades, we've visited and stayed in a lot of cabins. Many of these shelters are so in tune with their surroundings that they seem to have grown with the place. You've got to remember, when we came on the land, we had absolutely no money. This cost $8,500 to build. I couldn't decide on how big the house was. I didn't make that decision. I just tucked it right into the... and that way it becomes a part of it. Right here. Right here in the trees, you know? That's our inside. There's no outside. It's all integrated. There's something so timeless about a cabin that it would seem impossible to recreate this in a factory. But a few years ago, we decided to begin our quest to create a perfect cabin. Something healthy and affordable that could be reproduced at scale. Look at the little guys. One little cabin after another. Cabins. Little, teeny cabins. At the beginning, when we didn't have the design, there was only the germ of an idea of, let's say, an essential dwelling. And we thought a cabin would serve that use more appropriately. When we started working on this idea, we had one sort of code name. This prefix, bio, involving life, right? Which to us was, you know, aspirational. Something liked on the land. Using wood, which is a great material. Which feels great. And has a great performance. And then, as we just realized, we just were closer to the idea of a cabin. Something that you intentionally want to make simple. And devoid of any stuff you don't need, which is going to occupy a mental and special room. We thought, well, maybe by using the prefix we already have, bio, and adding cabin, maybe we have the name, bio cabin. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Nikki. After years in Europe, we were now living in California, where our backyard was big. And new laws made it easy to add a granny unit to our property. We needed a place for my parents to come stay, or even live. So we reached out to Architect Carpenter friends to help us create a cabin-inspired ADU. We first met our bio cabin collaborators when they helped us rescue a run-down village home outside Barcelona. You cannot do much things here unless it's your kids. This is not inhabitable as it is now. So that's where we have more fun in a way. This was really difficult to build. It feels very light because it's a warden. And it's very open. OK, go. One, two, three. I remember we had just finished the restoration of the house and we were just speculating. We were saying, imagine, we can use all this Scandinavian and Mediterranean and Californian know-how on something that can be more pure, smaller, more minimalistic. So this one we're turning into a short table-slash-bed. Yes. OK. So we were saying, well, you know, we could create a modular cabin made of wood that is natural and is healthy. But also, if you make it so precise, so exact and so sturdy that you could basically produce it with machines, then you could make it modular. Then you can click models together. And let's say one model can be one studio. But then if you click different models together and you, let's say, make a two- or three-model dwelling, then that could be a living quarters for one person or for two people or for a small family. Destination is on the right. Which way is it? Oh, I see, I see a little sign. Hola. Wow. So what you see here is the initial phase of a prototype of a small house that will consist of modules. Each module, this is one of the modules, is nine square metres, which is around the size of a room. We will produce the first prototype, which will be a house that is 36 square metres, because that's the legal size in Catalonia. So the idea here is that it's modular. Yes, you can gather the modules so you have one single space. You can separate the modules so you have two houses, one bigger space and then one smaller room. It works more like an office space, which is the configuration that probably we will start with. In fact, this thing that we're seeing, this probably will be a working space, nine square metres, where we will have two desks, one here and one on the other side. Then here on top, these are platforms that can be moved. You can move it here and become a desk, but as it is now, it's also the bed. So it can work as a working space, but then in the weekends it can be a guest room. The idea is to have modular elements, and the idea is that they can be transported by one or two people, depending on the weight and dimensions. And that it can be assembled in a very simple way. The idea is to achieve an effect as if it were a continuous element once everything is assembled. And then, depending on how many you have, for example, you could cover all this floor and have a kind of mezzanine upstairs. And then one year after, if you're bored with the mezzanine, you just take the pieces down and then you have a bench here and here, or two tables, or whatever you need. In a way, it's like a Lego. Yeah, I guess that all architects of my generation and younger generations that grew up playing with Lego, I mean, it certainly learns from Lego this idea that, you know, building is easy and building is joyful. Maybe one thing that this is not like Lego is that it's not plastic. Hola! Oh wow, you see it right away. It's really part of the backyard. It's like... It's bigger! It's bigger than I thought! Yeah, it's quite tall also. Kim, what can you show us? How tall is it? To the top, I think it's five meters and a half. And it's so narrow! Yeah, well, because, of course, this is one module of this additive system, so this is kind of the smallest version, the single module model. So you assemble it on site? Yes. So this is kind of more like the idea of a flat pack system? Yeah. That is very easy to assemble and disassemble all the components. Also, all the components are less than 50 kilos each, which means that two people can carry them not only easily, but also legally. Talk about one component people can transport, like the minimum common denominator. For example, one component means this is one pillar that goes all the way up. One that you can see here, this is one facade panel from here to here, and from here to here. That's one? Yes, that's one. So the idea is that, in principle, all the system is designed so that it can be self-assembled with proper instructions. You don't need a carpenter. Do you see this at the level of instructions? I mean, building, I don't know if you can get that ease, right? Like a house is different from a carpenter. No, not really. In terms of assembly, it's the same, let's say, technical difficulty. Yeah, so this is the main structural element of BioCabin. Two here, maybe? Two pieces here, yeah. Two pieces also, two for the pillars. I think that here, of course, the difference between assembling a furniture and assembling a structure is that assembling a structure is bigger, heavier, and therefore a little more dangerous. The main structure was really quick to assemble because we assembled it on the floor and then we just lift up. We raised the structure. But in principle, you know what comes first, what comes second. And it's almost just one tool. Yeah. And you don't need to do any screwing. It's just these bolts and that's it. All the screws are put in the factory, not inside. It comes with all the screws in, so it's just tightening the bolts. That's it. Because also one of the other fundamental ideas of the BioCabin is that not only can be very easily assembled, but actually can be reassembled, disassembled, and reassembled as many times as possible. Because when you put it up here, the first try, let's say, it took in total four days. Okay? But we are aiming for two days so that in a weekend you can do it. So this, you want to make sure you're not training somebody in the field to assemble. The idea is that in principle, if somebody wants to, this could be assembled by a weekend celebration, let's say. Barn raising, as you say, in the U.S. Yeah. I mean, the ultimate goal might be a little utopian goal. Trying to see construction as a celebration and not as a pain in the ass as usually it is for very good reasons. I mean, it makes sense that it is because it's heavy things and dangerous things. But here we're trying to, in a way, approach it from a totally different angle, which is could we make a building that actually is easy to assemble and joyful, no? It's a celebration. So the idea is to build this cabin I mean, the most sophisticated auxiliary element that we have is the ladder. And then we had a lot of work to put all the panels that make the roof on the roof because maybe on this model are a little bit heavy, but we have changed. For the next model, we have made some changes. This all comes from, you know, going to a construction site. As architects, you empathize with these people. You need to find systems that make their work easier. So how to build easier in terms of experiencing how hard it is in every way, how troublesome sometimes a complicated building is. As architects, we need to find solutions for that. And we need to find a way that is fast, but also good quality so we don't have problems. With color, no? So this way it's also easier for disassembly and reassembly processes and transportation. It's easy to understand which parts are structural. The main structure is very simple. It's a frame that consists of two pillars, one beam here, one beam on the base of the triangle, let's say, that goes all the way, and then the two gable beams. That's a configuration of one, but it's exactly the same. Here we are. So yeah, I mean, there's quite a bit of glass, actually. Yeah, it's again the one module, the smaller unit. We thought it was a good idea to have this glass on both sides so you have the feeling of being very close to the outdoors and open and so on. And also in this particular case, I guess, here we have this open side and this more closed side and these things can be reconfigured. So, for example, in these particular configurations we have six platforms and they are totally interchangeable. In this particular one we have two desks so you have two tables to work. You have two elevated platforms for storage purpose. Together, and of course this is a bank bed so you can have an app or even like if you have a guest or whatever, you can sleep here. In the next refinement of the system this will have some protection rails. You can just lay them here. And here it feels quite spacey. Also, I think that one thing that is important in this prototype is that we used all these platforms also during the assembly process of the roof. So this worked almost as scaffolding? Yes. So all these components here were assembled by inside so using these platforms here. So a lot of the roof was assembled from the inside? Yes. Normally you would think you'd need the crane or something for the roof because it's so high. If you are able to assemble all this from the inside if you want to make a construction easier and safer as possible if you build it from the inside it's always safer. I think it's a beautiful day of winter, super windy super harsh outside to understand how nice it's a cozy place. It feels good and protective. So this is 9 square meters. It feels spacious. You have a lot of room here. It's not echoey either. Is that wood? It's wood and also the fact that there's not so many flat surfaces. Also this helps. This is the insulation that we used. It's wood fiber and in this particular prototype we left it exposed. In principle this will always be covered. The insulation is also very important. That's important. There's a lot of people looking for a healthy home. The idea of a clean home. No glues, no formaldehyde nothing off-gassing. One of the main ideas of the biocabin is to use wood sourced from public forests. Working in Catalonia and working with wood you start to trace back these origins and you realize that most of the Catalan territory is forest and then it's not kept because it's not a primeval forest and then it's man-made in a way so it needs to be also kept by man and then every summer it gets burned. And then we import all the wood from abroad. So it doesn't make any sense. The intention is to do forest management of the forests in this case that are owned by public administrations and also to improve their environmental and biodiversity conditions. What we try to do with the cervical treatments that we do, as you said before, is to clean the forest. We don't clean the forest. What we do is to treat the mass. So with this what we try to do is to get some types of trees and some distributions that allow the trees to grow more. It also adapts better to climate change because of the drought and because there are less trees so they need less water and nutrients. We also allow that with some degrees of dimensions and that they reach a maturity they are also more attractive for biodiversity. Is he going to ask you for the best trees? No, what we do is what he asks for, what he wants for his construction because otherwise we would be doing a bad management. This is the key. This treatment applying fire gives us protection against the weather, against water, against the sun. And with this first layer of fire you prevent it from burning. It is more and more difficult to burn. This is what 90% of the companies that work with wood do. This is a project that instead of doing this with concrete and bricks they do it with wood and together with them they initiate a process that makes the wood more valuable. So it is this idea that we integrate the whole process very importantly with the forest and the trees, even the position of the trees where this bio-cabin comes from. Because we work with these public workers who take care of the forests and they tell us if you want this we have this forest that works for this and we need to maintain this forest so we take the trees from there, in a way. So after we receive the wood from the forest we prepare the wood so we try to rectify if there is any curve on the piece so we classify. So the best ones we use for the longest pieces and the other ones we will produce like small elements. It's not farmed wood and this means that it has to be taken care of during the whole growth process to be as tall as possible as straight as possible and so on. So it's a wood that is a little more wild and therefore it needs to be treated in a special way. And then the challenge is how this specific wood from all this public forest how we can make a building system that adds small sections and the way that we do it is not by gluing them but by mechanically joining them with these nuts and bolts. For example, this is a pillar that has three sections of this red pine and then we just fit them together mechanically. This means that it will never separate. It's easier to do in a workshop you don't need to put sections of wood and we put them together and this applies to the whole system. Here it's maybe easier to see the structure. So this is one of the main frames which consists of the pillar. Then you have a beam underneath but you don't see it. You have this other beam here. These nuts and bolts are part of the structure. These kind of bolts we assemble these on the workshop so this is fixed and this one is the one that is holding the components that can be removed. So this is very easy to just unscrew and move this around and unscrew again. If you put another module here you use this one to connect. This one is the one that connects with the other one. So instead of having a component you have the next beam and these are the ones that are connecting. And also all the different structural components have the shape that fits each other. To assemble all these frames we use these domino pieces which is wood to fit one frame with the other. This is called a domino. So this kind of joint helps us to put the piece in its position and it helps not to move the piece. We'll use a screw just to secure this joint here. But we don't have any kind of glue so the frame will be fixed in this way. Is there any use of tongue and groove? In the roof I was noticing that probably gravity is helping pieces to stay together. Is that correct? This is half boot that fits the other. It just fits by geometry but they don't get stuck together. It's not tongue and groove all these parts here. It's just half boot. You can see it on the sides. It's a principle in which shapes are helping. Yes. This is basically for stability but also for air tightness and water tightness and so on. Because the geometry helps to put it together. And then you can just tighten the bolts from the inside? Yes. Because the thing I explained is very important. These roof components are fixed by geometry and then fixed by another element that is bolted on the outside. But these are not screwed to the structure. So everything is working in compression. That makes it very easy. Once you unscrew the bolts you can take them out. And that's also why we applied this half boot principle in all the systems. And that's why it's to the smallest detail to the biggest one. Because this allows you that if you have two components they can meet each other but you can still take them out. If it was tongue and groove once they collide and get together you will never be able to take them out. We think it's safe for three. It took us how much? Two minutes to do it? No, no. And again it should take one minute because one of the things that we have improved in the newer version is that this is super tight and then it's not so easy to remove. But actually these are 40 centimeters separated like a sofa. So what we're standing on are platforms that can be benches, desks and a floor. So it's just the same component can be everything. So this is the main idea of the Viacom that you can use all the elements in all the parts. Everything is a system that provides everything from the stools to the benches. In the design this here can be removed and underneath you can have electrical wiring and even plumbing. So the idea is that base you could have all the kind of electrification or the plumbing system. Here we have 10 centimeters of insulation which is adequate for a temperate climate. Let's say if we were to build this in a much more colder climate we're thinking about a way to use the same system that you can have 15 or 20 centimeters of insulation. Yes, more than enough. Wonderful. We have some elements some cushioning and... I can also bring some beers. I know, yeah, exactly. Alright, so we can give things one way or the other here. Then... It really fits two people too. Because each of these is 40 centimeters so two is 80 centimeters which is the width of a bed. So this is literally a queen size bed. Well, yeah, it's longer than a queen size. This is like a comfort bed the upside of a comfort bed. Right, except bigger. A lot bigger. And more insulated. It's funny because this is just one. So three will look or will feel more than three times bigger than one. So it could be like this when it's a house model. When it's a house model probably it will be minimum four modules. It could be more, of course. Our idea is that probably from these four modules at least one or two will be covered like this and it will be quite permanent. And then maybe one is kind of changing. So this versatility option so let's say for generations this cabin can last for more than one or two generations. So maybe our kids have different needs and they can be able to easily change it. But also there is this kind of seasonal needs maybe from summer to winter because the climate is different therefore how we use the space is different. And then also there is this kind of more like daily changes that are the most difficult ones to really make sense. So you put it down and then it's your bench and then you can have lines there and it's okay because it just takes 10 seconds to do it. If it takes more than let's say 20 seconds nobody will do it. But if it's 10 seconds it's the same as moving a chair. So for example that element could be like a bench a regular table but also a standing desk and then shelves. Are there people trying to make small cabins with just small components that can be built by two people without a crane? Not exactly. We take bits and pieces of experiences from other cases. I do like the way everything is almost clicking. I can see how somebody could assemble this even on very bad weather conditions. We could have this up probably in less than a day. There is a central heating point a heating stove and a cooking stove. There's bank beds. Then you have a seating area. I've been inside some of those. This doesn't feel like those super rickety very small. And this feels somehow more solid and more like a real thing. As you know we are interested in putting a bio cabin in our backyard three? That's enough to make what they call an ADU in California. We checked it and what you need to comply is that the elements that you put inside there's a minimum. There's enough space for a toilet a kitchen and a bedroom. The only difficult thing is earthquakes but this would comply with the way the wood is and also foundation would probably be part of that like what they require for foundation. The foundation is easier because it's much more standard in a way. We have these standard steel plates that connect the whole structure to the foundation so it's just a matter of making a foundation that complies with the code. This is also a little experiment because this is temporary therefore it's kind of the minimum expression especially here as you can see today it's quite a windy area so that it doesn't fly away. So what we did here this is one of the locks on the trees that make the house. We dug a hole that is 40 cm deep. It's also a long bolt that has the legs, an L and then we just stuffed it with gravel to add some weight and then we just what this does is that it's kind of tied to the ground. From here to up is the standard system which is this very standard plate that holds the pillar. That's the more specific foundation for this case because this is in principle we'll stay here for maybe a year or something and then we'll move. I think there is a huge challenge that hasn't changed very much we want cars to look like cars but houses this kind of industrialized look there are some people that like it but it's not for everyone. So it's a kind of unsolved challenge we believe that we can actually solve it and in a way we can solve it not just disguising it as if it was not prefabricated and that it looks like a regular house which is one of the mainstream prefabricated houses with their own character in a way but in a way finding a way that it's a little more true it shows that it's made with components that you can assemble and disassemble but it's appealing that it's beautiful. This works as a balance to the house but also of course it could work as a house for people who actually want to live this way. And we probably forgot the meaning of home you want to have a home that improves over time that ages well and you also want to participate in the beauty of a place a house that doesn't hide the structure and highlights the elegant simplicity of the materials but also the way it's built that's the dwelling we want to have Is it possible to build a simple home that can combine quality, style a sense of place a relative affordability A wooden construction can be precise and sturdy and long-lasting we know because we visit churches made of wood in Scandinavia and they've been standing for several hundred years almost 1,000 years and they are fine Can you believe this church is 800 years old? You know, that's a good question Wood can be precise and long-lasting but wood is just one material a dwelling is a soul also and that's the quest we are interested in