The Cabin Fever 2025 festival, organized by Hungarian architecture studio Hello Wood, recently concluded in Česká Kamenice, Czech Republic, bringing together international participants to explore architecture as a shared social experience. The design-build festival took place on the historically significant grounds of a former textile factory and wartime labor camp, combining educational workshops with hands-on construction under the theme "Quality Time - Connection to Each Other."
Participants from around the world collaborated with renowned architectural studios including Arthur Mamou-Mani from the UK, Geoffrey Eberle and Entropic from Spain, Czech firm Mjölk architekti, and Hungary's Hello Wood to construct experimental cabins. These innovative structures were designed to explore how spatial design can foster intimacy, dialogue, and collective experiences among visitors. The event, powered by VELUX, represents the first phase of an ambitious three-year program dedicated to advancing architectural collaboration and education.
Founded in 2010, Hello Wood has established itself as a leading Hungarian architecture studio recognized for its emphasis on hands-on learning and community-based projects. The Cabin Fever summer school and festival extends this educational approach internationally, merging traditional architectural education with socially oriented design principles. The 2025 edition, developed in partnership with VELUX, specifically focused on examining the crucial role of light and spatial quality in shaping human interaction within built environments.
The collaboration between Hello Wood and VELUX reflects a shared design philosophy that architecture should seamlessly integrate environmental responsibility, material awareness, and sensory experience. The program actively encourages participants to consider how built environments can generate meaningful social and spatial relationships through thoughtful use of structure, materials, and natural light. Each edition of the festival investigates the intersection of material experimentation, traditional craftsmanship, and social engagement, framing the act of building as both a technical skill and cultural practice.
Held from July 23rd to July 31st, 2025, the festival was strategically hosted in Česká Kamenice, a location chosen for its layered industrial and historical significance. Participants were invited to investigate the site's complex physical and cultural context, translating their findings into architectural responses that address both historical memory and contemporary renewal. Students, emerging designers, and established architects worked alongside prominent studios to design and construct cabins and small-scale installations that would serve as gathering spaces for the community.
Three winning proposals selected from an international open call were also realized during the intensive workshop period, expanding the dialogue between innovative design, practical construction techniques, and collective learning experiences. The resulting structures demonstrate how contemporary architecture can honor historical context while creating new opportunities for social connection and community engagement.
Hello Wood's arrival in Česká Kamenice builds upon the studio's earlier successful initiatives, particularly the Project Village program that ran from 2015 to 2017 in Csóromfölde, Hungary. That groundbreaking project transformed an abandoned rural site through collaborative building efforts, establishing a model that was later extended through similar international workshops in Argentina and San Francisco. These experiences reinforced Hello Wood's commitment to connecting design education with site-specific cultural and environmental contexts.
Working in partnership with local Czech architects, Hello Wood identified Česká Kamenice as an ideal location for launching a new cycle of long-term collaboration. The town's rich historical background, stunning natural setting, and ambitious local revitalization goals provided the perfect foundation for the next three-year program. Through the Cabin Fever initiative, Hello Wood continues to develop and refine a comprehensive framework for architecture as a collective and situated practice that prioritizes cooperation, shared learning, and design's capacity to foster meaningful social connections.
Among the most striking creations was "The Chicken," a playful yet highly functional structure that reimagines one of the world's most familiar birds as both shelter and observation point. Designed to reflect the daily life of forest birds, this whimsical installation invites visitors to lie back comfortably inside its chicken-shaped neck, using an ingeniously placed internal mirror to watch the forest canopy and observe nesting birds above. The structure's moss-covered exterior doubles as a living habitat for insects and birds, seamlessly merging architecture with the natural environment and serving as a delightful reminder that effective design doesn't always require straight lines.
"The Splinter" presents a dramatically different aesthetic approach, standing like a piece of wood that has broken off from the forest itself. This slender, vertical cabin rises sharp and distinct among the treetop canopies, displaying a bold, spiky character that creates a striking silhouette against the natural backdrop. However, stepping inside reveals a warm, inviting interior space specifically designed to bring people together, where carefully selected natural materials and cozy design elements create the perfect setting for quality time and meaningful conversations.
"Eclosion" draws inspiration from the site's complex layered histories, incorporating elements of textile craft, aerospace manufacturing, and even the cocoon structure of the Meta menardi spider. Like the warp and weft of woven fabric, this sophisticated project recollects and interweaves the site's various historical narratives into a pavilion where people and place meaningfully meet. The installation creates an experience where visitors are constantly woven through the fabric of space and time, becoming active participants in the ever-changing story of the site.
"Živa," named after a Slavic goddess, awakens like a seed stirring beneath the forest floor, functioning as a living pod where nature and learning converge. Its intricate geometric form mirrors the balance and harmony naturally found in the wild, while its carefully cultivated mossy surroundings invite quiet reflection and contemplation. Inside, the space transforms into an elevated classroom among the trees, creating a warm, collaborative haven where innovative ideas can take root and flourish.
Finally, "LOOM" pays direct tribute to the site's significant textile-making heritage by reimagining the traditional mechanics of a loom in bold architectural form. Vertical timber columns and horizontal beams deliberately echo the warp and weft pattern of woven fabric, while carefully stretched textile threads create an elevated platform designed for rest, reflection, and community gathering. Set thoughtfully on the grounds of the former factory, LOOM functions as both practical shelter and powerful symbol, serving as a tactile reminder of craft traditions, historical memory, and ongoing transformation.
The Cabin Fever 2025 festival successfully demonstrated how contemporary architecture can serve as a bridge between past and future, creating spaces that honor historical significance while fostering new forms of community connection. Through these innovative installations, Hello Wood and its collaborators have created a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire visitors and influence architectural education for years to come.
