A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

This Tiny Cabin for Beer Island, Please

With our city now so laughably unaffordable, thousands of Vancouverites are stuck imagining wonderful homes instead of living in them. Spaced is a record of our minds wandering the world of architecture and design, up and away from the unrewarding realities of shoebox condos, dark basement suites, sweet f~ck all on Craigslist and three levels of government that couldn’t give a damn.

(via) This simple, 107 sqft “Nolla” cabin on the shore of Finland’s Vallisaari Island was created as an easily accessible escape (it’s just outside Helsinki) by city-dwelling designer Robin Falck. With solar panels sitting flush on its A-frame, the stilted construction has very little impact on its immediate environment and did not require building permits because of its diminutive size. Its name translates as “Zero”, as in zero emissions. Says Falck:

With the Nolla cabin, we want to offer visitors the possibility to experience modern cabin life in the realm of nature, with minimal emissions. An ecological lifestyle does not only require giving up unsustainable commodities, but also discovering modern, sustainable solutions that can be used instead. This has been an essential part of the design process.

Interested in staying here? You can. It’s listed on Airbnb. But since this column is all about fantasy and we can thus (in our imaginations) have a reasonable facsimile built closer to home, we’ll set ours up on Beer Island in False Creek so we can comfortably yell at passing dragon boaters to keep the obnoxious noise to a minimum. Wanna stay over? We’re making s’mores…


– All photos via Neste/Falck –

  • 2_NOLLA.jpg.860x0_q70_crop-scale
  • 10_NOLLA.jpg.860x0_q70_crop-smart
  • 6_NOLLA.jpg.860x0_q70_crop-smart
  • 3_NOLLA.jpg.860x0_q70_crop-smart
  • 1_NOLLA.jpg.860x0_q70_crop-smart
  • 5_NOLLA.jpg.860x0_q70_crop-smart
  • 12_NOLLA.jpg.860x0_q70_crop-smart
  • 4_NOLLA.jpg.860x0_q70_crop-smart

SPACED // Tiny ‘Nature Villa’ in the Woods

It lacks a kitchen but we'd happily cook over a fire nearby just so we could sleep in that bed and hang on that deck...

Contemplating Life on a Handmade ‘Floating Island’

The big deck holds a BBQ, a herb garden, a hammock, and several other wonderful things besides (like a baby blue canoe).

We’d Like to Self-Isolate in This Off-Grid Tiny House on the Other Side of the World

To be able to escape the city for the sake of social distancing is a dream worth having in these weird and dangerous times.

We Dig These Cabins Designed For Sustaining Good Times in the Wild

The cool and remote constructions take full advantage of photovoltaic panels, grey/black water treatment and rainwater collection.