Remember that quirky Yael Mer inflatable dress that could save your life when disaster strikes? These floating homes go to the next level: Hurricane Matthew is bearing down on the Caribbean. Would the damage be less devastating if you lived in a floating home? Perhaps, but you’ll have to serve up more than pretty renderings to lure me aboard.
Italian architect Giancarlo Zema has designed an eco-friendly floating dwelling called the WaterNest 100. The 100 square meter units are made of up to 98% recycled materials including its aluminum frame and laminated timber cladding. Sixty square meters of rooftop photovoltaic panels provide about 4 kWp of clean electricity, enough to power the needs of a one-bedroom dwelling or office function.
The interior of WaterNest 100 can accommodate a bedroom, bathroom, living room, dining area and kitchen. It can also be configured as an exhibition space or workspace. Large windows and skylights provide ample daylighting, and open air balconies maximize waterfront views while also allowing for an efficient system of natural micro-ventilation, minimizing the need for mechanically conditioned air. So far so good, if this was This is the Architecture 101, the basics of decent residential design
The units are available through EcoFloLife, a London-based business specializing in the design and construction of eco-friendly floating homes. Their website states, “The world around us is becoming increasingly chaotic and conformist…ongoing climate changes and the resulting sea- and river-level rises force us to ponder on the eco-sustainability of our housing choices.” Fair enough, but how do these floating homes actually work?
The 12 meter diameter units can be positioned along rivers, lakes, bays, atolls and calm sea areas. The EcoFloLife catalogue provides top-design eco-friendly furnishings that complement the design and meet most contemporary needs.
The world around us is becoming increasingly chaotic and conformist, requiring fully eco-friendly and recyclable housing units, which allow us to live in complete independence and in harmony with nature, while respecting and admiring it. The ongoing climate changes and the resulting sea- and river-level rises force us to ponder on the eco-sustainability of our housing choices. EcoFloLife is committed on the topic of environmental sustainability with its floating and eco-friendly residential units.
Images via EcoFloLife website
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