Architecture

Mirrored cabin lets visitors get up close and personal with nature

Mirrored cabin lets visitors get up close and personal with nature
The SynVillan is raised above the ground on steel stilts
The SynVillan is raised above the ground on steel stilts
View 17 Images
The SynVillan is raised above the ground on steel stilts
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The SynVillan is raised above the ground on steel stilts
The SynVillan is located in Eriksberg Hotel and Nature Reserve, Scandinavia's largest safari park
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The SynVillan is located in Eriksberg Hotel and Nature Reserve, Scandinavia's largest safari park
The SynVillan is accessed by a wooden staircase
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The SynVillan is accessed by a wooden staircase
The SynVillan's terrace area is furnished and offers views over a private bay in the Baltic Sea
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The SynVillan's terrace area is furnished and offers views over a private bay in the Baltic Sea
The SynVillan's mirrored facade is made from stainless steel
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The SynVillan's mirrored facade is made from stainless steel
The SynVillan includes access to the nearby bay
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The SynVillan includes access to the nearby bay
The SynVillan is located in an isolated area so runs off-the-grid with solar power, propane gas, and an incinerating toilet
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The SynVillan is located in an isolated area so runs off-the-grid with solar power, propane gas, and an incinerating toilet
The SynVillan is designed to "dissolve" into the landscape
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The SynVillan is designed to "dissolve" into the landscape
The SynVillan is located in Scandinavia's largest safari park
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The SynVillan is located in Scandinavia's largest safari park
The SynVillan features a glass floor area in its living room
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The SynVillan features a glass floor area in its living room
A wood-burning stove keeps the SynVillan's interior warm
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A wood-burning stove keeps the SynVillan's interior warm
The SynVillan's living room includes a monocular telescope set up by the window
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The SynVillan's living room includes a monocular telescope set up by the window
The SynVillan's elevated position offers excellent views of the area
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The SynVillan's elevated position offers excellent views of the area
The SynVillan's glass floor area offers visitors a bird's eye view of the local wildlife feeding
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The SynVillan's glass floor area offers visitors a bird's eye view of the local wildlife feeding
The SynVillan's main bedroom features a double bed and generous glazing
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The SynVillan's main bedroom features a double bed and generous glazing
The SynVillan has a capacity of up to four people
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The SynVillan has a capacity of up to four people
The SynVillan's second bedroom includes bunk beds
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The SynVillan's second bedroom includes bunk beds
View gallery - 17 images

Though its mirrored exterior doesn't quite make it disappear into the landscape, the SynVillan (or Illusion Villa) is certainly a striking addition to Sweden's Eriksberg Hotel and Nature Reserve. The cabin runs off-the-grid with solar power and lets visitors get up close and personal with European Red Bison, deer, and other wildlife thanks to a glass-bottomed living room.

The SynVillan is raised above the ground on steel stilts and measures 50 sq m (538 sq ft), not including its 15 sq m (50 sq ft) terrace area. Its overall form is modeled on a traditional Swedish home and features stainless steel walls and a straw roof area.

Access is gained by a wooden staircase and the interior features two bedrooms – one with a double bed and another with bunk beds – a kitchenette, and a living room with seating and a monocular telescope set up by the window. The glass floor area in the living room is a particularly nice touch, allowing visitors to gaze down at the local wildlife.

The SynVillan's glass floor area offers visitors a bird's eye view of the local wildlife feeding
The SynVillan's glass floor area offers visitors a bird's eye view of the local wildlife feeding

Since it's located out in the middle of nowhere, a grid-based connection was obviously not possible, so the SynVillan gets all power from solar panels. A wood-burning stove provides warmth, the oven runs on propane gas, and the bathroom features an incinerating toilet (there's no running water available, though a jacuzzi and other amenities are nearby).

"Eriksberg's beautiful nature park now offers the opportunity for a nature- and architectural experience that lets the visitor get really close to the animals," says architect Thomas Sandell, of the firm Sandellsandberg. "We have designed a house which in shape stems from the traditional Swedish house. The roof is made of straw, but the walls are covered with a polished patterned steel plate, whose reflective properties are aimed to make the illusion of a dissolved house, which disappears into nature. It levitates above the ground and seemingly hovers over a feeding place where the animals come to eat. We get to follow that scene just a few meters from the animals through a glass slab in the floor."

The SynVillan has a capacity of up to four people
The SynVillan has a capacity of up to four people

If you'd like to stay in the lodge yourself, prices start at 3,990 SEK (roughly US$460) for 2 people, per night.

Source: Eriksberg

View gallery - 17 images
1 comment
1 comment
Pio Tr
Wouldn't mirrored walls cause a lot of birds flying into a wall and killing themselves?