Above: Elevated Hiking Cabins on the Pyrenean Haute Route

An elevated cabin designed for hikers, located along the Pyrenean Haute Route. The Above created by architect Zeynep Goktoprak, serves as a retreat for adventure seekers, harmoniously blending into the natural landscape. The project, which won the prestigious Recharge competition, emphasizes the importance of connecting with nature through both design and materials.

Honoring the Pyrenean Haute Route

The Pyrenean Haute Route is famed for its diverse landscapes, which serve as the natural border between Spain and France. This route offers hikers a dynamic environment where colors and scenery shift constantly. Goktoprak’s design pays homage to this changing geography by creating cabins that are responsive to their surroundings.

These elevated shelters are designed to reflect the unique landscape of each location along the route. The façade panels, made from polycarbonate, capture and reflect light, allowing each cabin to blend seamlessly into its environment while offering a transparent surface that mirrors the changing skies and vistas. This design ensures that each cabin feels "rooted" in its location, adapting to the local environment while maintaining the practical needs of hikers.

Design Approach: Fire and Nature as the Core Elements

Throughout human history, fire has been a central gathering element. The design of the elevated cabins reflects this, placing fire at the heart of the structure. The cabin’s central fireplace is a symbolic and functional focal point, providing warmth and comfort for hikers. This fire-centered approach ties the design back to the essence of primitive architecture, where early structures were built around fire to create spaces for community.

The cabin itself is elevated above the ground on a wooden structure, measuring approximately 3x12 meters, offering a sheltered environment for those navigating the rugged terrain. The columns that lift the cabin are not merely structural but also act as a visual aid for hikers on the route, helping them stay oriented in areas where trails can become hard to follow.

Material Choices and Environmental Harmony

The cabin design uses a combination of wood, concrete, and polycarbonate panels. These materials were selected to ensure durability while harmonizing with the natural surroundings. Wood offers a natural connection to the landscape, concrete provides structural stability, and the polycarbonate panels enhance the interaction between the structure and light. This choice of materials also reflects a sustainable approach, ensuring the cabins can withstand various environmental conditions while remaining aesthetically aligned with their setting.

The polycarbonate panels serve a dual purpose: reflecting natural light to create a soft glow and acting as a transparent surface that changes appearance depending on the time of day, season, and weather conditions. This adaptability allows each cabin to blend into its surroundings and feel at one with the landscape.

A Shelter and a Landmark

The cabins offer more than just protection from the elements; they act as visual beacons on the trail. Especially in the more remote areas of the Pyrenean Haute Route, where weather conditions or fatigue can disorient hikers, these elevated shelters provide a point of reference, helping adventurers stay on track. This aspect of the design is particularly crucial given the challenges of the route, which is known for its long distances and difficult terrain.

A Return to Essence

The design of the "Above" cabins reflects a return to the fundamental aspects of human connection with nature. By centering the architecture around fire and blending the cabins into the landscape, Goktoprak’s design invites hikers to reconnect with their natural surroundings in a meaningful way. These elevated cabins are not just a place of shelter but a space that enhances the hiking experience, making the journey through the Pyrenean Haute Route both more accessible and profound.