The Vipp Shelter, currently operating as a short term rental by the company Vipp, is beautiful. It is a small house, under 600 feet, including the lofts, and is an entirely original design. On a first look, it looks like a bomb shelter metal bunker that should be buried underground, but then you see the glass. The walls of the main living area are glass on either side and are able to slide to entirely open up the space.
The bed is located in a loft with an entirely glass ceiling so that while lying in bed you can look at the night sky. The interior of the house is all very dark grey and black, which is fitting with the exterior which is entirely black. The dark colors of the cabin give the building a different feeling from other modern Scandinavian designs, which tend to be very light colors and pure white.
The entire house is basically a format to showcase Vipp products, like their famous waste bins, in a building that embodies all of their design aesthetics.
While researching this post, I read an article that was a criticism of the Vipp Shelter for its inconvenient features, design flaws, and exorbitant price tag. Some of the opinions expressed in the article, although I see the merit, I don’t really agree with because they seem somewhat irrelevant (for example, I don’t think that anyone from Arizona is going to order this prefabricated building all the way from Sweden). However, I do think it is interesting that they brought up the inconvenience of the sleeping loft because this is not a point often addressed in tiny house design, due to the fact that sleeping lofts are often necessary in incredibly small dwellings. I will definitely agree that the price is very high, at $1000 euros to stay two nights in the house, it is comparable in price to high end luxury hotels. Despite criticisms, I still think that the Vipp Shelter is an incredible piece of architecture.
Find out more about the Vipp Shelter on the Vipp website.