House, Oberwiesenthal

Berlin-based AFF Architekten admit that they struggle, too. But they seem to be the kind of people who have a talent for coming up with a solution: if the market makes it difficult for us, then we keep busy making our dreams come true. That's positive thinking indeed. And one of their dreams was to build an 80 m² cabin in the Ore Mountains, close to the town of Oberwiesenthal. Bunker-like, spartan: that's right, something to make you feel safe, and a perfect space for Zen. Pretty rough concrete, decorated with a few light fixtures, and partly shaped by the walls of the wooden hut that previously stood on the site. No insulation and no water for flushing the toilet. For heating you burn what you find in the forest in an old recycled oven, or in a new, high-tech one made in Switzerland. The 200-kilogram front door is also the only door in the building. Appliances are very basic, second-hand objects that the AFF architects have collected over the years. The flooring is made from trees felled right beside the cabin. All this for 729 euros per cubic metre, plus the luxury of nature all around the house for free. Rumour has it that AFF has already received numerous inquiries from people wanting to rent the place.