- Architecture & development
The Cardrona Cabin was designed and built to show the beauty of Abodo's wooden products. The building looks simple but is a perfect representation of their vision: ‘Carefully crafted wood’.
Abodo was founded in New Zealand almost twenty years ago by the Gudsell family. The company crafts wood with sustainable beauty in a way that is safe for people and the environment. Their wooden products are durable, beautiful and quickly renewable. The wood namely comes from rapidly renewable New Zealand plantations that help mitigate climate change. ‘Using state-of-the-art thermal modification and grain orientation technology, we can craft beautiful timbers that stand the test of time, without disadvantaging future generations,’ Abodo notes. 
"The architecture looks simple to highlight the strength and splendour of the wood."
To demonstrate the beauty and quality of their wood, the Cardrona Cabin was designed in collaboration with Assembly Architects, an office in New Zealand. The cabin is located in the heart of the Cardrona Valley on New Zealand's South Island, where there is a harsh alpine climate. The building had to be adapted to this. That's why the slates of 'Vulcan Screening' in a 'Silicate' finish were designed to age beautifully to the grey tones of the rocky surroundings, while the concrete base is imprinted with the grainy texture of the wooden formwork. 
‘The gable form is derived from the Central Otago stone shed, though the traditional appearance has been abstracted. Elements that normally communicate building scale are absent, the form is presented as a monolith of rigorously set-out battened timber, floating on a recessed piled foundation,’ Assembly Architects explains. The architecture looks simple, just to highlight the strength and splendour of the wood. 
Inside, we find a warm interior that reflects texture and heart with artisan carpentry and exposed wood structures. ‘No longer can we use slow grown, imported timbers to build premium homes and structures. This building is a showcase of what can be achieved when we think differently,’ Abodo says. The log cabin demonstrates sustainability and at the same time the splendour of Abodo's wooden products and processes. 
Photographers: Chris Lea & Simon Devitt