The recession was a pretty bad time for many around the globe. People lost jobs, took pay cuts, and industries like aviation, tourism and transport suffered with lack of consumers. When people feel insecure, the first thing they cut out on is luxury. Makes sense too. But tell that to those guys who had Houseboats made and ready for tourists. Houseboats that are now, thankfully, being turned into energy efficient homes!
Designed by a team of professors from the University of Kentucky and Kentucky Highlands, these prefabricated homes are called HBEER – House Boats turned into Energy Efficient Residences. They offer exactly what their name promises. The houseboats that were not in use have been taken and redone into modular pods with each pod serving a special purpose. Instead of designing the whole home at once, you can assemble it anyway with the pods.
For instance a single couple can have their HBEER made with a living room pod, dining space pod, kitchen pod, bedroom and toilet pod put together to form a cozy home. The moment you have a kid, you can add another bedroom pod. You can always expand your home with ease and simplicity and without wastage of space and resources from the beginning.
Each pod is designed keeping in mind the specific needs of the space in mind and hence crafted to offer the best in terms of energy efficiency. Seems a cool way to use all those unused houseboats lying around; maybe they will extend this to old shipping containers as well.
Via: Robert-Fisher
