Portable Cabin in Poznan, Poland by Wiercinski Studio.

Within a community garden in Poznan, Poland sits a portable cabin constructed from two adapted shipping containers. Designed for a couple with an interest in temporary architecture and difficult-to-adapt spaces, Wiercinski Studio looked at offsite fabrication to create this year-round living and working space.

The cabin consists of two cargo shipping containers 12 x 2.5 metres long by 2.9 metres high. Due to the sloping terrain and views, the studio shifted the solid volume by half its length to create a large terrace on one side, facing the nearby river, and on the other side it
moved closer to the plot, lowering the height for the entrance.

Consisting of a living room with a kitchen, a place to work, a bedroom and a bathroom (with a bathtub!), the interior has 54sqm of usable space with an additional 24sqm for the garden terrace — not so shabby for a couple of reused shipping containers. Fully fitted out in an offsite production hall, the transport and assembly on the plot took one day, with only the last internal finishing works left to install on-site.

Related: Prefab Off-grid Goals: Cabin ANNA by Caspar Schols.

Birch plywood and insulated spray foam line the interior, complemented by a simple arrangement of furniture designed by Wiercinski Studio themselves. The characteristic façade made of thick trapezoidal sheet metal was intentionally left to display the honestly of the raw construction. Material walls are painted a soft green colour to harmonise with the surroundings.

In the living area overlooking the river, large balcony windows have been installed where the metal gates were located and added to the side elevations. Shaped into squares, they can be combined into double and triple configurations. External steel stairs and an arched balustrade on the terrace round off the stylistic shape of the space.

United with its site, the great advantage of this compact home is its mobility, as it can alternate its location in line with the changes accompanying the life of its owners.

Related: Tini Prefab Office by Ignacio de la Vega & Pilar Cano-Lasso of DelaVegaCanolasso.

[Images courtesy of Wiercinski Studio. Photography by Oni Studio.]