Casa Manyana: A fire-safe cabin built today, for tomorrow

After Australia’s hottest December on record, the South Coast of New South Wales was on fire. The 2019-2020 fires were some of the worst in Australia’s recorded history, burning around 15.5 million hectares of land, and causing the loss of 26 lives and more than 2,400 homes. 

Architect Adriano Pupilli found his family on the frontlines in the town of Manyana on Yuin Country, 200 kilometres south of Sydney.  

“Our property came very close to perishing in the flames,” Pupilli says. “The fire was at our back fence. It actually leaped over the property, catching fire to trees on the other side of the road.” 

The Pupilli family home was spared, but a small timber cabin in the front yard was badly damaged. When it came to rebuilding, bushfire resilience was front of mind.  

Casa Manyana is Pupilli’s architectural response: a fire-safe, DIY cabin constructed around a frame of FSC-certified plantation pine plywood. The design aims for quick disaster recovery and future fire resilience, while maintaining harmony with the landscape. 

Placed in the front yard of the family home, the compact structure contains a sleeping loft, kitchenette, and bathroom for guests, as well as a living space for everyday use. Large glass panels invite plenty of natural light, while louvred windows let in a cooling sea breeze. 

To prepare for future fires, non-combustible corrugated metal and fibre cement form a protective casing around the plywood frame, built to withstand fire-generated winds, while the open windows are covered by screens to protect from flying embers. 

The design is simple enough to be built without specialist expertise or tools, and small enough to avoid lengthy authority approvals, making it ideal for emergency rebuilding.   

For Pupilli, participation by households in the rebuilding process not only brings down costs, but can foster a sense of community and healing after a disaster, getting people back on their land fast. 

“We got the structural frame up in one day, and it was the most satisfying and fun process,” he says. “I hope to encourage other architects and designers to look at solutions that explore the human side of prefabricated housing – how designs and systems provide for sustainable and efficient prefabrication while delivering dignified and elegant solutions that bring costs of assembly down and a sense of satisfaction and healing in a post-disaster setting.” 

Casa Manyana is the latest evolution of the IMBY™ Kit, a flatpack modular system for building small, sustainable spaces ‘in my backyard’ that Pupilli and his Sydney-based firm have been developing for over a decade.

FSC plywood pieces are key to the design. The arched frame pieces are nested together on single sheets of plywood to avoid wasted materials and cut by computer-aided machines to ensure precision for assembly. Structural bays are sized to suit standard plywood lining sheets, further maximizing use of the materials. 

The pieces are strong, lightweight, and easy to lock and layer together without the need for nails or glue. They can be assembled using only a mobile scaffold, avoiding the cost of crane hire. Once assembled, the plywood becomes a key feature of the design, with warm wood hues and exposed beams becoming part of the signature aesthetic.  

“It’s a common misconception that prefabricated buildings need to be cookie-cutter,” Pupilli says. “They can be dignified and creative solutions that bring joy to occupants while complementing the landscape.” 

Aside from the use of renewable FSC timber, other sustainability benefits include a small environmental footprint, smart use of natural light and ventilation, and modularity that can extend the lifecycle of the structure and its materials – the cabin can be easily extended or dismantled, flatpacked, and transported to a new location. 

Casa Manyana updates the IMBY™ Kit design for a future where hot, dry summers and fire risks are becoming more prevalent, due to the effects of climate change.  

“My clients are seeking out sustainable solutions in response to the visible signs of climate change we see around us,” Pupilli says. “We need to start thinking about how we design for climate change, how we can increase the options available to people, and how we can enable their participation in the solutions.”