Lost on Purpose: Escapism through cabin architecture amidst climate change

This thesis explores how the typology of cabins can evolve to address the emotional and psychological impacts of climate change while preserving their intangible essence as spaces of retreat and introspection. Using a design-by-research methodology, the study integrates insights from philosophy, architecture, and environmental science to develop adaptive strategies that respond to both the physical and psychological contexts shaped by climate change. The research focuses on creating designs that balance environmental challenges with the intangible qualities that make cabins meaningful spaces for escape and connection.

The cabin design prioritises personalisation and emotional connection, offering warmth, simplicity, and spaces that encourage introspection. It provides users with moments of awareness and reflection, symbolising the subconscious denial of climate change and the importance of engaging with it. The other aspects of design in this thesis; the pathway acts as a narrative of climate change and the pier acts as a tangible representation of it. This thesis has been an exploration of how design can respond meaningfully to the uncertainty of a changing world. It demonstrates that by balancing multidisciplinary insights with personal reflections, architecture can create spaces that resonate with people’s emotional and psychological needs while addressing environmental realities. Cabins, pathways, and piers in this thesis emerge not just as functional designs but as symbols of resilience, introspection, and hope, offering a way to reconnect with nature and ourselves in the face of climate change.