Cabin in Woods, designed by Ediz Demirel Works, is a small-scale project conceived for short-term rentals and events, located on a hill near a village in the Kozak Plateau of Pergamon, far from urban areas. The surrounding landscape is characterized by two dominant elements: massive granite rocks and dense pine forests. Traditionally, local construction has… View Article
Cabin in Woods, designed by Ediz Demirel Works, is a small-scale project conceived for short-term rentals and events, located on a hill near a village in the Kozak Plateau of Pergamon, far from urban areas. The surrounding landscape is characterized by two dominant elements: massive granite rocks and dense pine forests. Traditionally, local construction has relied on granite masonry and brick walls, a material language that the project both acknowledges and reinterprets.
The cabin rests atop one of the existing dry stone terrace walls of an old vineyard. Its placement makes minimal intervention to the site while at the same time asserting a deliberate contrast with nature through its steel structure and corten steel façade. For the foundation, the reinforced terrace wall was carefully rebuilt using rubble collected from collapsed dry walls on the site, following the irregular stone patterns of the terrain. An in-situ reinforced concrete foundation was then poured into this base while additional rubble and broken stones for the surrounding and landscape walls were sourced from a nearby quarry in Bergama’s Kozak region, Aşağıcuma Village (Bertaş Maden).
The cabin is organized around a sunken core — a contemporary conversation pit — embedded in the topography and enveloped by a tent-like steel shell. This lowered gathering space invites users to sit by the fire, share conversations, and experience the site from different perspectives. Attached extensions accommodate the wet areas and other functions, while a mezzanine within the shell defines the sleeping and working zones.
A horizontal cut in the shell frames a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape, while sculptural openings project outward like eyes, mediating between inside and outside. Prefabricated in a workshop, the structural steel system and façade panels were assembled on-site, ensuring efficiency and precision while minimizing the impact on the natural setting.
Ultimately, the cabin’s identity emerges from the interplay of two opposing tectonic strategies: the grounded foundation that continues the existing topography and establishes a direct connection to the land, and the detached steel shell that hovers above it in deliberate contrast. This dialogue between locality and foreignness, permanence and lightness, defines the architectural character of Cabin in Woods.