Diogene by Renzo Piano at Vitra Campus

ORIGINAL: Dezeen.com

12 June 2013

Diogene. Photo by Deeze

Renzo Piano has become the latest high-profile architect to add a building to the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, by completing a tiny wooden cabin with room for just a single inhabitant.

The one-room hut is named Diogene, after a Greek philosopher who rejected luxury and chose to live in a barrel, and is intended as a self-sufficient hideaway that can be used as a workplace or as a weekend home.

Diogene. Photo by Deeze

Renzo Piano first presented his idea for the minimal home in a 2009 edition of architectural magaine Abitare, proposing a living space of around two by two metres, with enough space for a bed, a chair and a small table. Following the publication, Piano was commissioned by Rolf Fehlbaum, chairman of furniture brand Vitra, to develop the project.

"This little house is the final result of a long, long journey partially driven by desires and dreams, but also by technicality and a scientific approach," says Piano.

Diogene. Photo by Deeze

The completed cabin is presented as an experimental concept rather than a finished product. 

• Its exterior is clad with aluminium panels to protect it from the elements and 
• it uses solar panels, 
• rainwater collection and 
• a biological toilet to satisfy the usual requirements for electricity and water.

A pull-out sofa is fitted on one side of the space, while a folding table is slotted beneath the window and a shower, toilet and kitchen are also included. All together, the cabin is no wider than three metres and could easily fit inside a lorry. 

Exploded diagram

 "Diogene is not an emergency accommodation, but a voluntary place of retreat," adds Vitra.

The building opens this week at the Vitra Campus, where architects such as Herzog & de Meuron, Zaha Hadid and SANAA have all previously completed buildings. Hadid also recently returned to the campus to add an angular installation outside her Fire Station.

Design sketch

  

Other recent projects by Italian architect Renzo Piano include a flat-pack auditorium in Italy and London skyscraper The Shard.

See more architecture by Renzo Piano »
See more architecture at the Vitra Campus »

Here's a more detailed description from Vitra:

Diogene, a cabin designed by Renzo Piano and RPBW for Vitra

In June 2013, a further element will be introduced on the Vitra Campus. On a hill between the VitraHaus and the Dome, the Italian architect Renzo Piano and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) has developed Diogene, which to date is Vitra's smallest building ― but largest product.