Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025

This Black Prefab Cabin in Uruguay “Melts” Into the Woods

This Black Prefab Cabin in Uruguay “Melts” Into the Woods

The modular design by iHouse is clad with sustainably sourced wood in a black finish, making it at home with the forest in more ways than one.

The pandemic led Conrado, a Uruguayan living in London, to follow through on a long-held dream. For years, he’d wanted to build a vacation home on family property in the coastal town of Blancarena where he could gather with loved ones. After several Zoom meetings with prefab builder iHouse, a Montevideo-based firm he discovered while scrolling Instagram in April 2020, Conrado’s dream would soon become reality.



On family land in Blancarena, Uruguay, the London-based client, Conrado built a simple vacation home where he can comfortably spend more time with his loved ones.

The undertaking, however, was ambitious from the start. Conrado wanted to spend the holidays at the new home, which would mean that iHouse would have to finish everything by December. To add to the challenges of a condensed timeline, Conrado was still in the UK.

"[It] was unusual because of the distance between us," admits Augustin Sica, iHouse’s project design manager. But by adapting practices and technology that enhanced the experience of remote collaboration-a silver lining to the pandemic, if there are any-iHouse was able to keep Conrado involved at every step. Sica and his firm easily shared photorealistic renders, plans, and references from previous works, all over video calls. In addition, Conrado’s mother was able to serve as an in-person liaison, accompanying the firm to the project site.



A prefab fit the bill for many reasons, including its minimal environmental footprint.

Designed to contemporize the small, wooden cabins that are common in the area, Casa ZGZ is a single-level, black-clad cabin comprising two modules pushed together lengthwise. The first includes the spaces that require plumbing: the bathrooms and the kitchen. The second module houses two bedrooms and the living and dining areas. The cabin’s exterior gets its black color from a natural oil-like finish that protects the wood, a treatment that also makes the home "melt into the shadow of the trees" for added privacy. Floor-to-ceiling windows, and decks at both the front and rear, further immerse the home into its setting.



The home is composed of two modules pushed together lengthwise. At the center are a kitchen and common space, and bedrooms are positioned at either end.



Pendant lighting brightens the wood-paneled kitchen.



Full-height sliding doors on either side open the home to the surrounding nature; one of the major highlights of the home is its strong indoor/outdoor connection.



Set in sensitive ecosystem, a native forest, the home would have been much more difficult to build using traditional on-site methods. iHouse constructed the prefab’s pieces in a production plant adjacent to the firm’s architecture studio in Montevideo. Then, they toted the pieces to the site where they installed the design quickly and efficiently and with minimal impact to the local environment.



All the materials were selected for their eco-friendliness. Wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council-an organization that promotes the responsible management of the world’s forests-was used for both the exterior and interior paneling.



The floor plan of the house is simple: The private areas-the bedrooms and bath-are located at the ends of the home. The social spaces are located at the center, adjacent to the kitchen.

The materials for the home, too, were selected for their relatively light carbon footprint. Steel-frame construction is combined with wood that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council-meaning it’s sourced from responsibly managed forests-for both the exterior and interior paneling. During installation, the home was positioned to best optimize the site’s sunlight, creating interiors that are naturally warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.



At night, the exterior of the home appears to "melt into the shadow of the trees," which provides a layer of privacy.

Once completed in the factory, the modules were transported to the site and installed in five days. "Conrado was thrilled when he saw the house for the first time," shares Sica. "I remember him saying ‘It’s better than the pictures!’ He had doubts about the deadline because he couldn't believe it was possible to make a home like this from start to finish in just seventy days."

The property holds many happy memories for the client and his family, and Casa ZGZ now gives them the opportunity to make many more new ones.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
×