







The Danish Cabin
The Engine House is the latest in a series of off-grid architectural experiments by New British Design which was commissioned by Danish brand Carlsberg.
Working with nature to enhance what was already there, the light-weight structure of the pub and deck hovers above the stream and weaves itself considerately around the trees and giant ferns. Well supported by a series of foundation pads made from recycled plastic and made from locally sourced larch and up-cycled tin, the design is about as low impact as any building can be. At night a series of polycarbonate panels set into the timber frame allows the building to become a lantern.
Danish brand Carlsberg are on a mission to get back to their routes. Struggling to stand out in a declining lager market, the beer performs well in blind taste test but until the recent award winning rebrand by Taxi Studio, had not communicated well what made them special.
Commissioning New British Design to create a hand-crafted, Architect designed off-grid pub for their latest social media campaign is an innovative move with all the right messages. Working with experiential agency Hyperactive and sister company, Fold7, the filming of the build took a team of 30 camera crew and a cast 6 to tell the story.
‘We wanted to explore living space through a series of experimental prototypes on a 1:1 scale. We also wanted to create a low-impact structure which placed as much importance on the outside space as the inside. With this brief came a huge sense of responsibility. To set out to place something on a site so untouched warrants a new level of respect’.
Ben Huggins, Project Architect