In 2012 Kevin McCloud set out to build an eco-cabin on a patch of land in Somerset. Part log cabin part ‘man-shed’, Kevin McCloud’s cabin was built entirely from wood growing on the land and from recycled materials.
Kevin McCloud, from Channel 4’s Grand Designs, used a unique curved oak frame design with hand-cut oak shingles for the roof and exterior cladding.
To circumvent planning laws, the cabin had to be mobile. Hence, Kevin’s cabin was constructed on oak plates bolted to the chassis of an old army trailer.
A fundamental part of the cabin build was to actually enjoy the process; as Kevin says, “he enjoyed every minute of it”.
Everybody has sort of in here a shed, and that shed can be for anything. It’s that space that no IT manager or human resources department can ever take away from us. It’s that bit of us that’s free and wants to sing and feel liberated. Of course we all have it in here [points to back of the mind] and the best thing is to try and make it real.
The message from Kevin’s cabin is clear. The more of themselves anyone puts into the design and build of their log cabin, the more satisfaction and delight they will ultimately take in ownership of that cabin.