Carefully Crafted Timber – Abodo Wood's Cardrona Cabin

Designed as a showcase for Abodo Wood, the Cardrona Cabin, set in the heart of New Zealand’s Cardrona Valley, embodies the Abodo motto ‘carefully crafted timber’, emphasising the value of timbers that stand the test of time while prioritising environmental sustainability.

Since its foundation in the early 2000s by the Gudsell family, Abodo has remained a New Zealand-owned, family business with the key purpose of crafting sustainable timbers that are safe for people and the environment whilst providing a lifetime of beauty. It is fitting then that the location chosen to showcase the Abodo brand features some of New Zealand’s harshest alpine conditions.

Over the Crown Range and in the heart of the Cardrona Valley on the South Island, you will find the cabin. Designed by award-winning architecture studio Assembly Architects and built by Wanaka-based Dunlop Builders, the cabin uniquely demonstrates the durability and beauty of Abodo timber products and processes. Echoing the historic nature of the Cardrona township, the cabin’s gable form is a contemporary interpretation of the rural huts that are scattered across the valley.

Externally, the slatted Vulcan Screening in SiOO:X finish is designed to age over time and weather to match the grey tones of the surrounding alpine environment, while the concrete base of the structure is imprinted with the grained texture of timber formwork. The secret to the cabin’s survival through the harsh Cardrona winters is Abodo’s patented process of crafting timbers. Plantation grown FSC® certified New Zealand pine is put through a thermal modification and grain orientation process – rendering it highly stable and durable in all climates. This, combined with Swedish wood finish SiOO:X, creates a beautiful low maintenance finish.

Designed by award-winning architecture studio Assembly Architects and built by Wanaka-based Dunlop Builders, the cabin uniquely demonstrates the durability and beauty of Abodo timber products and processes.

Internally, the design reflects warmth, texture and heart, with a crafted carpentry of exposed timber and highly grained timber panelling once again evoking the traditional sarking seen in the early period cottages in the area. The design of the cabin pays homage to a previous era of traditional New Zealand architecture, but the true purpose of the project is to bring timber design into a modern age of environmental sustainability. “No longer can we use slow growing and mature hardwoods from natural forests to build premium homes andstructures,” says Abodo Wood Director Daniel Gudsell. “The building is a showcase of what can be achieved when we think differently.”

Showcasing Abodo’s core philosophy of designing with tomorrow in mind, the cabin was built with Abodo timbers sourced from rapidly renewable New Zealand plantations. By obtaining all timber from renewable sources, Abodo is helping to mitigate climate change whilst ensuring that the timber is safe for people and the environment. In growing more for less and helping to build a sustainable future for the timber industry, Abodo is ultimately advantaging future generations and shifting the way we as a society approach design and construction.

“No longer can we use slow growing and mature hardwoods from natural forests to build premium homes and structures.”

Ultimately, the cabin is a beautifully simple showcase of the Abodo brand, its innovative products and unparalleled devotion to crafting a more sustainable future for the timber industry. As Daniel explains, “we created this showcase development to demonstrate how these New Zealand plantation-grown timber perform in a changing, hot one day, cold the next, environment such as the Cardrona Valley.”

“We created this showcase development to demonstrate how these New Zealand plantation-grown timber perform in a changing, hot one day, cold the next, environment such as the Cardrona Valley.”