Tiny Houses

Tiny home's sliding roof lets the outside inside

Tiny home's sliding roof lets the outside inside
The Marie Ange's roof slides open to expose the bedroom to the elements
The Marie Ange's roof slides open to expose the bedroom to the elements
View 10 Images
The Marie Ange's kitchen has a sink and cabinetry, as well as space for a fridge and oven
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The Marie Ange's kitchen has a sink and cabinetry, as well as space for a fridge and oven
The Marie Ange's interior looks light-filled thanks to its generous glazing
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The Marie Ange's interior looks light-filled thanks to its generous glazing
The Marie Ange is pictured here before the furniture was `installed
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The Marie Ange is pictured here before the furniture was `installed
The Marie Ange's compact interior measures roughly 19 sq m (204 sq ft) and has a utilitarian decor of spruce and plywood
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The Marie Ange's compact interior measures roughly 19 sq m (204 sq ft) and has a utilitarian decor of spruce and plywood
The Marie Ange's roof slides manually on rails and is secured into position with a series of simple clasps
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The Marie Ange's roof slides manually on rails and is secured into position with a series of simple clasps
The Marie Ange is located in Landes, southwestern France
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The Marie Ange is located in Landes, southwestern France
The Marie Ange's exterior consists of Douglas fir wood, with polycarbonate accenting
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The Marie Ange's exterior consists of Douglas fir wood, with polycarbonate accenting
The Marie Ange measures roughly 19 sq m (204 sq ft)
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The Marie Ange measures roughly 19 sq m (204 sq ft)
The Marie Ange's roof slides open to expose the bedroom to the elements
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The Marie Ange's roof slides open to expose the bedroom to the elements
The Marie Ange's exterior consists of Douglas fir wood, with polycarbonate accenting
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The Marie Ange's exterior consists of Douglas fir wood, with polycarbonate accenting
View gallery - 10 images

It can be really tough for a firm to stand out in the jam-packed tiny house scene nowadays but Optinid has created its own niche with a series of homes sporting unusual sunroof-like sliding roofs that open them up to the elements. Its latest model in this style is named the Marie Ange and comes packing solar panels and underfloor heating too.

The Marie Ange measures 6 m (19.6 ft) in length and is based on a standard double-axle trailer, with a Douglas fir exterior and polycarbonate accenting. Looks-wise, it is very similar to previous efforts from the French firm and weight comes in at 3,300 kg (7,275 lb).

The interior floorspace measures roughly 19 sq m (204 sq ft). On entering the home, the living room is located to the right and looks light-filled thanks to its generous glazing. A small work desk nearby is connected to a storage-integrated staircase and leads up to the home's only bedroom.

The bedroom itself is a typical tiny house-style loft bedroom space topped by that headline-grabbing sliding roof, which allows the owner to sleep under the sun or stars if the weather allows – or, as Optinid suggests – make the bed in comfort, without banging their heads on the low ceiling. The roof is manually operated and slides on rails, and is secured into place with a series of clasps.

The Marie Ange's compact interior measures roughly 19 sq m (204 sq ft) and has a utilitarian decor of spruce and plywood
The Marie Ange's compact interior measures roughly 19 sq m (204 sq ft) and has a utilitarian decor of spruce and plywood

Elsewhere on the ground floor lies a kitchen with a sink and cabinetry, and space ready for an oven and fridge to be added. This connects to a small bathroom that contains a shower, sink, and toilet.

The Marie Ange gets its power from a standard RV-style hookup, but a solar panel array consisting of two 300-W panels helps reduce its draw on the grid (there are no batteries installed so it can't run off-the-grid). Heating comes from an underfloor heating system, like Minimaliste's Laurier, and should help keep toes toasty throughout winter.

We've no word on the price of this particular home, though similar sliding roof tiny houses by Optinid have previously cost in the region of €54,000 (around US$66,000).

Source: Optinid

View gallery - 10 images
6 comments
6 comments
guzmanchinky
I love tiny homes. That said you hear stories all the time about how they are not allowed anywhere. Not in RV parks (they don't meet RV Industry standards) and not on private land (they don't meet city code standards). Why in the world not just buy an RV???
Douglas Bennett Rogers
It's a (very expensive) roll off roof observatory!
wolf0579
Why do you continually try to foist these things off onto a public that can't use them due to widespread zoning restrictions, and doesn't want them?? They're too heavy to be used as traditional RV's... I really do suspect an attempt at social engineering with the constant push of these things onto a public that doesn't want them and can't use them.
Steven Mandell
An explanation and view of the complete mechanism of the slider would seem most appropriate and appreciated here.
nick101
The more of these I see, the more convinced I am that even someone with passible skills and tools could build one.
ljaques
"Honey, we don't have enough flies in here."
"Oh, that won't do. Wait, I'll pop the roof open and let them all in."
"Thanks, hon."