Those days of situating a mobile home or trailer along the coast as the sole alternative to semi off-the-grid living are over. Thanks to an eco-conscious group of green-living pioneers called Nice Architects, a new self-sustaining pod called the Ecocapsule promises a radical rethinking of traditional home design.
Based and developed in Bratislava, Slovakia, the Ecoscapsule measures just 14.6-feet long by 7.4-feet wide by 8.4-feet tall. Although the Ecocaspule certainly deserves to be called a “micro home”, its developers insist the egg-shaped structure is big enough for two.
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And as with most environmentally-friendly homes built on a smaller scale, the interior is expertly designed with maximum space efficiency in mind. Inside, the Ecocaspule offers a folding bed, kitchenette, living/working space, and a bathroom with a composting toilet and shower.
Conveniently included interior amenities aside, the best part about this eco-conscious dome is its energy independence. The Ecocapsule’s spherical shape is purposeful and is designed to collect rainwater and dew throughout the day.
It also has a built-in water filter that allows its dwellers to collect and filtrate water from almost any source. More importantly, the Ecocapsule’s sloping roof is embedded with high-efficiency solar cells, a 750W wind turbine set on a retractable pole and an integrated battery system to store and manage the energy collected.
“This creates an energy system that can support you for almost an entire year in many off-grid locations [and] ensures that you will have enough power during periods of reduced solar or wind activity,” notes the Nice Architects team.
The Ecocapsule’s architects also envision scientists seeking such pods to set up a research center in remote places and when the need arises for available homes in the event of displacement due to natural disaster or war.
Although the Ecocapsule has not been priced, the home will be on full display at the Pioneers Festival in Vienna from 28 May to 29 May. The Nice Architects team is planning to take pre-orders later this year and hopes to ship the first units to eco-conscious home dwellers sometime in the first half of 2016.
Originally published on TechGenMag. Republished with permission from Kristian Markus, TechGenMag editor.
