Is this New Zealand’s most perfect cabin?

Cabin at Anchorage, Abel Tasman. Photo / Supplied

It’s tiny at just 37sq m but seemingly perfect: The cabin nestled in the bush, a quintessential hideaway.

It’s sure not fancy.

But Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZ Institute of Architects award judges found it special.

On Friday night in Christchurch, they gave Johnstone Callaghan Architects a national award for the project only referred to as the cabin and in Te Tai Ihu Abel Tasman region.

“Nestled within a bush-clad inlet, this engaging cabin is almost invisible,” said the panel headed by Andrew Irving.

The notion of camping was at the heart of the well-worked plan that cut space to a minimum but added delight.

“The warm interior is crafted like a piece of timber furniture; externally, hardwearing materials connect to site,” the judges said.

Openings interconnect to adjacent spaces to provide multiple opportunities for inhabitation.

The bathroom is deconstructed to an outdoor shower and ablution bunker with an arresting view. Movement from the sleeping space through deck areas maintains an intimate connection with the bush, wider environment and water beyond.

The cabin takes its reading more from the bush than the bay. Photo / Supplied

The cabin won a small project award but the judges did not say where precisely it was, who the owners were or who commissioned the work.

When it won a Best Award, the citation said the place was “located in the Anchorage, a small bay in the Abel Tasman, the site is one of four nestled in the national park, accessed only by the walking track or boat”.

“The site is remote. This small off-grid cabin came about when the client’s crib started becoming too crowded with family. Their brief was to create a space which they could escape to. Where the existing bach drew on a seaside vernacular, the cabin draws on the native bush and the national park surrounding the site.”

A mesh walkway along the back of the cabin connects to the shower sitting among the trees, or to the toilet with its fully glazed frontage looking into nature. A stair to the rear of the cabin leads to the roof deck, the Best Award’s citation said.

When it won a local area award earlier this year, the institute said: “Tucked into the bush overlooking a small inlet within Abel Tasman National Park, this durable, low maintenance little gem offers a surprise at every turn.”

It was designed as an adjunct to the nearby family bach. Every aspect of the new building celebrates the essence of retreat into nature - from an outdoor shower in the trees and a nest-like sleeping space, to the shuttered deck and treetop viewing platform that maintains a constant connection with the bush beyond.

“Designed and assembled with love and great care, one cannot help but enjoy this earthy, honest, uplifting, and spiritual building,” the judge said then.

This tiny place at Akaroa also won in the small project architecture awards. Photo / Supplied

But it wasn’t the only small place to win a national award.

A small place at Akaroa by Coll Architecture was the second project to win in the small project architecture category.

“A beautifully crafted, experimental stick in the sand and first step to building a forever home,” is how the judges described this place which they referred to as a basecamp.

Nightlight is a shed tightly packed with useful things, including a kitchen, bathroom and workshop.

“By night it’s a sculptural lantern lending delight to outdoor areas. The project’s success extends beyond the shed to an open fire, bench seats and in-ground hot tub. The assembly of built forms facilitates elemental experiences and connection with the landscape,” the judges said.