What’s cooler than getting a reservation in the David Bowie-inspired Ziggy Stardust “boatel” houseboat that Brooklyn artists are redesigning in the Rockaways right now? Or at least the next best thing?
Getting yourself into a net-zero boat-inspired house so hip it doesn’t even have to float.
The blueprint for for the 432-square-foot Pod House from Shelter Dynamics, which debuted last week at the 2016 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, was a self-sufficient sailboat that designer James Gregory built for his wife.
The arched ceilings of the Swiss Roll-shaped abode support exterior solar panels that provide juices to a BMZ lithium battery that powers everything inside, while R-40 insulation and triple-pane windows that can stand up to 150 MPH winds keep it warm. To round things out, Gregory used AT&T’s Digital Life platform to keep the Pod lit, locked and loaded with hi-tech goodness.
The $1.5 million prototype, which can hold “all you need but nothing you don’t,” is the first of a line that Gregory anticipates he can build for about $160,000 per unit moving forward.
While you might be able to secure a future model of the vacation cabin/backyard mother-in-law suite, the original Pod House is already off the market — Gregory and his wife are its inaugural tenants.
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