Austrian Gerhard Feldbacher recently unveiled an interesting small home that aims to strike a happy balance between ease of transport and size. Named Simple Home, the small dwelling sports four integrated legs that enable it to be easily transported by truck and left in its intended location without the need of a crane, hoist, or other machinery.
The model featured in this article measures roughly 7.5 m (24 ft) long, 2.6 m (8.5 ft) wide, and 4 m (13 ft) high. Though it somewhat resembles the shipping container homes we've covered, it's actually built from wood, and features 10 cm (4 in) thick wooden walls and roof, and a larch ventilated facade. Insulation comes in the form of wood fiber insulation (sheep's wool is optional too), and the whole thing weighs in at a rather heavy 10,000 kg (11 US tons).
The interior looks reasonably roomy and includes a kitchen unit, lounge area, and wet room bathroom with sink, toilet, and shower head. The bedroom area is novel, and consists of a pop-out unit that sits on wheels and is pulled out manually from the main body of the home. Access to the home is gained via steps, and a terrace and sliding doors help open it up to the outside.
The home features a swap body system, very much like those used to transport some containers. It's low-tech and works as follows ... once the flatbed truck which Simple House sits upon has reached its intended location, the home's four long legs are unfolded, thus allowing it to stand under its own weight and the truck to drive away. To move the home again, the process is reversed.
Simple Home can run from either a grid hookup or, optionally, an off-grid solar-based power system, and Feldbacher put it through its paces while traveling around Central Europe and attending festivals last year. As standard, water comes from a hookup and waste water can be connected to a sewer or tank.
Feldbacher is selling the Simple Home (price on request), and offers a lot of options, including different materials and interior layout, and a larger version dubbed Home to Stay that's not designed to be moved.
Source: Simple Home via TreeHugger
