Limited space is a hallmark of city life, so it’s not everyday that New Yorkers ask themselves, “where should I put the hammock.” A/D/O, the creative design hub and co-working space at 29 Norman Avenue, has answered this question, and many more in its new MINI Living Urban Cabin. The Cabin is installed in A/D/O’s courtyard, and is on view for free daily between 9am and 7pm through November 22nd. The instillation seeks to “create a house within a limited footprint that is inspired by local surroundings; a cabin that blends into the landscape and illustrates New York as a vibrant city that incorporates cultural influences from around the world.”
Those cultural influences are best on view in the kitchen. Since the MINI Cabin is a traveling project, which will soon be on its way to other cities, MINI Living works with local architects in each city create a kitchen, “because local differences are particularly evident in the culture of food.” The local architects also create an “experience room” in the cabin, that makes each iteration of the instillation “relevant to a local community conversation about living.”
For the New York Cabin, MINI Living chose to collaborate with Bureau V, the architecture firm behind Brooklyn’s own National Sawdust. Bureau V’s kitchen riffs on the chrome sheen of the classic NYC diner, and incorporates the compressed galley layout common to apartment kitchens in the city.
The cabin is vibrant, and exciting to walk through and explore. But it turns out, the cabin’s not just for living in…it’s for partying in, too! Every Friday night through November 17th, A/D/O is collaborating with Offline Projects, to present “Cabin Fever” – a free party featuring experimental music and multimedia activations alongside the Urban Cabin. These fetes will take place in the courtyard from 9 pm to midnight, with drink specials from Norman, A/D/O’s in-house restaurant, from 5-7pm. Any donations go to support NGOs that assist refugees facing deportation.
And finally, when it comes to a “conversation about living,” A/D/O takes that mission literally by offering a series of talks in and around the cabin including Dezeen x MINI Living on Thursday, October 19th. Find out more about the cabin here, or check it out at A/D/O!