This Mexican Prefab Cabin Avoids Clichés While Framing Nature

When you’re staying at a cabin in the woods, how much does the design of that cabin matter? You’re there for the trees, the birds, the glory of nature—not the architecture. At least, that was my thinking as I drove through the narrow cobblestone streets of Mineral del Chico, a small mountain town just over two hours from Mexico City, to test out a new offering from Wander Cabins, a company that rents design-forward short-term stays in various locations across the Mexican countryside. The setting would put on the show, I figured, and the structure, though handsome, would be a supporting player.

When I get to the site, nature does take center stage; it is a forested hillside that overlooks the surrounding lowlands, like a mountain by the sea. It’s quiet, save for the patter of birdsong, and the sunlight dappled by treetops swaying in the breeze is almost hypnotic. The cabins nestle into the slope, and mine is a green, flat-top box that blends into the earth. From afar, it’s pretty unremarkable, but closer up, its unusual curves become clearer. The two short sides of the 269-square-foot cabin bow out, and Santiago Garcia Rey, Wander Cabins’ founder, shows me how one rounded wall slides away, opening the interior up to the idyllic setting.

Instead of walking through the cabin’s front door, we climb through the massive new portal to get inside. The dark, wood-clad interior is modest—a kitchenette is on the open end, a built-in bed and some seating are in the middle, and the bathroom is on the other end—but high ceilings give the place a grandeur. With the rounded wall opened, it feels less like I’m inside and more like I’m tucked under the canopy of a century-old tree. It’s not a feeling I’ve had in any other forest hut I’ve visited.