London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

The Ursa Off-Grid Tiny Cabin Is as Sustainable as It Is Stylish

The Ursa Off-Grid Tiny Cabin Is as Sustainable as It Is Stylish

Inspired by the idea of a living organism, Madeiguincho designed a 188-square-foot cabin that collects, stores, and reuses rainwater and produces food and energy.

When Gonçalo Marrote, João Filipe, and Pedro Paredes of Portugal-based architecture and woodworking studio Madeiguincho designed and built this 195-square-foot cabin in Lisbon, they had utopian ideals in mind. "We wanted to reimagine the typical way people live in contemporary society, so we envisioned a new type of dwelling that’s mobile, efficient, clean, and beautiful," Marrote says.



Located in Lisbon, Portugal, the Ursa tiny cabin is wrapped in vertical Thermowood boards.



A large, oval window extends from the facade to the ceiling, flooding the cabin with sunlight and providing views of the land and the sky.

Inspired by the concept of a living organism, Marrote and his team designed the Ursa tiny house on wheels to be as sustainable as it is artful. Clad in caramel-colored wood siding with a massive oval window, the off-grid structure collects, stores, and reuses rainwater, produces food and energy, and is powered by photovoltaic panels and wind turbines.



The oval window lends an artful aesthetic to the tiny cabin on wheels.

The cabin channels rainwater from its roof to a particle filter and then two large water tanks that can store a total of 650 liters. A pressurized system pumps water to the kitchen sink, the bathroom sinks, and the shower. A three-stage, reverse-osmosis filter beneath the kitchen sink provides drinking water. "Following use, all water is stored in a tank and later reused for watering plants," Marrote says.



The interior of the cabin is outfitted with an open kitchen and a living space that converts to a sleeping area. Birch plywood wraps the interior, lending warmth and texture.

The tiny cabin can accommodate up to four people, and it features two sleeping areas, a workstation, a kitchen, a full bathroom, and a terrace. The kitchen water pump, refrigerator, and glass-ceramic cooktop are powered by five solar panels installed on the south-facing roof. The photovoltaics can be adjusted to a 30% incline that maximizes energy production throughout the year. "To close the off-grid cycle, we installed an electric dry toilet that produces compost," Marrote says. "It’s a mobile shelter that collects water and produces both energy and food."



The daybed in the living area converts to a bed that sleeps two at night.

At 188 square feet, Ursa is the largest of Madeiguincho’s tiny cabins, which also include the 107-square foot Guincho and the 134-square-foot Abano. All three cabins are wrapped in Thermowood cladding and feature plywood interiors. "The birch plywood is simple, minimalistic, and no-frills," Marrote says.



Vertical Thermowood shutters can be opened or closed, offering connection to the landscape or privacy when needed.

The design team was inspired by portholes when they created the massive oval-shape window. "This was the starting point," Marrote says. "Then we decided the window should continue from the facade to the roof, allowing residents to be constantly connected to the ocean, the stars, and the sky."



When the shutters are open, the interior of the tiny cabin feels connected to the landscape via the large glass doors in the kitchen area.

The aperture-like window brightens up the interior, but shutters can darken and close off the tiny home when residents desire privacy. "We designed this cabin with the possibility of being completely closed or open, and connected with the natural surroundings through the big oval window," Marrote says.



The bathroom is finished with a birch plywood ceiling, and Thermowood makes up the walls and the flooring in the wet areas. Brass fixtures contrast with the wood and add a touch of glam.

According to Marrote, compact residences like Ursa are here to stay. "The tiny home movement is going to last," the architect says. "The idea that we don’t need many things to live a quality life-and that we can do it with a smaller footprint-is changing the paradigm of construction, and making us rethink the way we live. Structures like Ursa help people disconnect from daily life and connect with nature. And in today’s housing market, they make it possible for people to buy a house without a mortgage or a loan that takes a lifetime to pay."



Rooftop solar panels produce energy for the tiny cabin, which features a large wood deck at its front facade.



In the evening, warm light shines through the oval window and the large glass doors, creating a lantern-like effect.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×