freya and robin's homesteads on opposite sides of the lake by studio weave

‘freya and robin’ by studio weave, kielder, northumberland, england
image © david williams
all images courtesy of studio weave

freya’s cabin and robin’s hut by british practice studio weave is a story of two humble wooden structures separated by a stretch of kielder water, considered two long lost lovers set in a wooded backdrop. each hut, mirrored in material and proportion, possess completely unique structural approaches. freya’s cabin is a reflection of the landscape, made up of sectional slices with profiles of tree branches, pressed together to create an extrusion of the cabin’s form. robin’s home is instead a more traditionally built timber frame system clad in wooden tiles. both open to the land and sea, the cabins offer a resting place for runners or cyclists traveling around the park, extending views across the water to the counterpart structure. they also stand as beacons along the trail, marking specific distances around the lake’s perimeter.

the story of freya and robin, in the architect’s words, goes as follows:

‘robin lived in a simple wooden hut on the edge of the forest on the north bank. freya, who loved flowers (and robin!), lived on the south bank. freya fell for robin and showed her affection by making him the gift of an intricate cabin in the image of the woodlands he so loved. meanwhile, over the water, robin was building a boat, which freya thought he was building in order to row over to her and the cabin. but the cabin was on the south bank, so robin couldn’t see freya or the cabin because of the sun in his eyes. he was actually heading off on an adventure.’

image © studio weave

‘once freya realised that robin was rowing in the opposite direction she was so upset she cried tears of gold. as she lovingly wrapped the cabin in her gold tears, robin saw something glinting in the distance, so he rowed across the water towards it. he was moved by the cabin and invited freya on his adventure with him. they didn’t leave very long ago, so they are still away adventuring, but if you can find it, you can see robin’s wooden hut and the golden cabin that freya made for him, facing each other across the lake, awaiting their return.’

image © david williams

‘robin’s hut is on the north bank, on the edge of the woodland amongst fir tress and rocks. robin wanted to live by the woods where he loves to climb trees and play with the woodland animals. he built himself a simple wooden structure that he clad in timber shingles on his site surrounded by water that he felt gave it a remote, island-like feel. the cabin that freya built for robin is in the image of what she imagined robin’s woodland home to be like. she chose a spot directly opposite and lined up with robin’s hut, to give robin the best chance of seeing her cabin across the lake.’

image © david williams

‘for the walls she arranged the strongest branches from thick to thin. and for the roof she made an enchanted forest ceiling with twisted branches tickling each other. she put foxgloves at the entrance to invite the fairies in, then she pressed everything tight together so they would be strong and crisp and last forever. she modelled it on her flower press and balanced it up high on the tallest straightest stems she could find. when she saw robin rowing away, freya cried tears of gold and wrapped the cabin in them.’

freya’s cabin upon thin stilts
image © david williams