Iterative Architecture
A Modular Lodge for Incremental, Safe Construction
A conceptual cabin designed for phased construction, computational reasoning, and spatial economy
Daniel Segal, Berlin, 2025
Summary:
A computationally-driven design proposal for a modular, solo-buildable lodge. Combines vernacular forms with geometric clarity and phased logic. Part of ongoing research into adaptive architecture and generative workflows.
Figure 1: Front perspective view showing phase-based massing and modular articulation.
This lodge is a spatial study in computational architectural logic — a proposal for how a single person might safely and intelligently construct a multi-volume dwelling in remote or resource-constrained contexts. Built around principles of modularity, phased development, and geometric clarity, the structure emphasizes both constructability and design integrity.
Designed as a proof of concept, it blends ideas from generative design, digital fabrication, and incremental urbanism into a compact architectural prototype.
Design Overview
The structure is composed of five interlocking volumes, each readable as a discrete construction phase:
Red Volume — A conventional rectangular cabin, built first for immediate shelter and utility.
Yellow Ground Volume — A modular plinth extending the livable core, constructed either in parallel or immediately after the red cabin.
Blue A-Frame + Yellow Upper Volume — A lightweight superstructure that introduces height and identity. This can be framed independently and positioned for passive light, snow shedding, and vertical program.
Gray Quarter-Ellipse Basement — A sculptural substructure designed for stable earth contact, cool storage, and gentle stair integration. Its curved geometry also introduces fluid spatial transition and structural clarity below grade.
Green Awning / Bridge Volume — A connective element completing the ensemble. It functions as an awning, balcony, carport, or exterior passage — adapting to the needs of the site and user.
Each volume is fully constructible with common tools and materials, and the sequence is designed to reduce high-risk stages (e.g., heavy roof lifting or unsupported long spans). The approach allows meaningful intermediate stopping points, with each completed phase yielding a usable, weatherproof structure.
Vernacular Forms as a Foundation
Figure 2. Two Vernacular Cabin Types — A-frame (left) and Rectangular (right)
These forms are not romanticized — they’re operationalized through computational logic into a phased, adaptive prototype.
While the final lodge design is clean and abstract, its core elements come from accessible vernacular forms — the A-frame and the simple box cabin.
These types are globally used for solo builds and off-grid living because they’re materially efficient, structurally simple, and safe to construct with basic tools.
The project’s innovation is not in complexity, but in how these forms are sequenced, refined, and assembled into a modular, adaptable whole.
Architectural Logic
Beyond form, the project reflects an iterative design ethic, where construction becomes a computational process: discrete, testable, adaptive.
The A-frame roof provides spatial drama but is structurally rational and simple to erect.
The curved basement resists soil pressure while offering a non-threatening, intuitive stair volume, unlike the steep, unsafe ladders seen in many off-grid cabins.
Flat walls on lower levels enable modular shelving, furniture, and material storage, supporting both habitation and ongoing construction.
The building sections relate geometrically — a spatial grammar designed for expansion, prefabrication, and computational variation.
Broader Context
Figure 3: Video showing lofted roof structure and connective green bridge.
This proposal engages themes central to architectural computation:
How do we encode safety and phasing into spatial logic?
Can digital workflows inform not just form-finding, but build order?
What does architectural complexity look like when reimagined as a sequence of simple, discrete decisions?
While purely conceptual at this stage, the lodge is a response to practical questions of autonomy, risk, and incremental authorship — questions that are increasingly urgent in both architectural theory and practice.
About the Author
Daniel Segal is a computational designer with a background in high-performance computing, algorithmic modeling, and spatial systems. Trained at MIT in Computational Science, he now works at the intersection of architecture, computation, and generative design. His work explores how digital processes can shape the built environment, not just through form, but through sequence, logic, and agency.
He is currently based in Berlin and exploring PhD opportunities in architectural computation.
📧 dan.j.segal@gmail.com
🌍 seg.al