Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

This 100% Off-Grid Cabin in Chile

This 100% Off-Grid Cabin in Chile

Completed in six short months, ZeroCabin Krul is a self-sufficient getaway near the Andes mountains and the Patagonian fjords.

When the Krul sisters stumbled upon ZeroCabin’s low-impact, off-grid homes on Instagram, they jumped at the opportunity to build a self-sufficient retreat on their slice of paradise in Calbuco, Chile.

"They wanted to unplug from the rest of the world and live well with just the elements provided by nature," explains ZeroCabin founder Felipe Lüer. The sisters also sought to capitalize on the flexibility of remote work. "They wanted to work while looking at the sea but be as free as a bird during the week," Lüer says.



Located in a forest in southern Chile’s Lake District, ZeroCabin Krul faces an inlet of the Pacific Ocean.



"The cabin’s shape is in humble dialogue with the surrounding nature," says Lüer, who collaborated on the final design with Alejandro Otero. "It is like a tree that only uses what is available to live."

Each ZeroCabin starts out as a kit of parts that is customized to client specifications and site conditions. Lüer’s team of Zerobuilders has thus far completed six cabins across Chile that are powered by renewable energy and sit lightly on the landscape.



The three-bedroom, two-bath home has a ground-floor kitchen and living area and a loft on the third floor.



The living room opens up to a 30-square-meter deck and views of the sea.

Like its predecessors, the 1,184-square-foot ZeroCabin Krul has a timber frame clad in structural insulated panels filled with pulverized cardboard. Passive solar principles informed the cabin’s placement and orientation, while a two-kilowatt solar system powers all of the home’s electrical needs.



Rainwater is collected and treated in a five-cycle system-electrolysis, reverse osmosis, and filters for quartz, chlorine, and ozone-to meet all of the home’s water needs.



Bathroom waste is treated through a vermicomposting Toha System, wherein earthworms turn sewage into nutrient-rich humus. Shower water is collected and reused to flush the toilet.

Due to the site’s remote location along a steep road, the ZeroCabin team had to use a light pickup truck rather than larger vehicle to transport cement and rubble for the foundation. Installing the solar panels was also a tricky endeavor.

"Each panel weighs 90 kilograms, and getting them to the top of the roof and putting them together like LEGO pieces was really difficult," says Lüer. "Using pulleys and scaffolding at a height greater than five stories, we (three people) managed to climb up the structure with the roof panels and install the entire array."



The design team used salvaged thermopane panels for the home’s many windows, which are positioned to provide views and optimize solar exposure.



Passive solar design helps to regulate the home’s temperature all year round. Supplemental heating is provided by a Becker stove, which is also used for cooking and heating the hot tub.

By using simple, natural materials and sustainable low-tech solutions, the team was able to complete the cabin in six months for a total of $165,000.

"ZeroCabin Krul faces the sea to the east, but the west side faces a 70-meter-tall hill that blocks the winter sun as early as 1:30 pm," says Lüer. "So we built the north facade perpendicular to the north, opened it up with windows, and expanded the east facade to allow more winter sun to enter the house obliquely."



The cabin is elevated 1.5 meters above the ground in response to the region’s extreme humidity and to allow the winter sun to reach the ground floor, which would have otherwise been shaded by tall trees.



The bright yellow trim calls attention to the ZeroCabin Krul’s unique, site-specific form. "We combined completely different shapes for the four facades, which are optimized for the collection of water, sun, and wind," explains Lüer. "We wanted to highlight those lines to show a new kind of architecture that puts living harmoniously with nature at the forefront."

The Krul sisters didn’t visit the site during construction, and they asked Lüer’s team to surprise them with a grand reveal after the cabin’s completion last May.

"They cried with happiness when they finally saw it," says Lüer. "It was like a reality TV show moment where they appeared at the last minute when the house is already built…the best kind of house that is designed specifically for the site with a unique approach of getting the most energy as efficiently as possible."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×