It looks like a futuristic space pod ready to take flight, but it’s really a low-energy compact dwelling. The Ecocapsule, designed by Nice Architects based in Bratislava, Slovakia, was envisioned as a comfortable off-grid mobile home ideal for researchers or adventurers.
It provides next-level camping with the many luxuries of a stationary home, such as a kitchen, bed large enough to sleep two, warm running water, operable windows and a toilet and shower. The key is in its efficient layout and unusual shape, which packs a lot of creature comforts into a tiny egg-shaped house. It boasts “the luxuries of a hotel room now available in the wilderness,” say the designers.
Fuelled by solar cells and a retractable wind turbine, the house allows for extended stays without the need to recharge the high-capacity battery. Rainwater and dew is collected at the bottom of the capsule for use inside, and built-in water filters allow the user to hook up to any additional water source.
The capsule debuted in Vienna and at Milan Expo this spring, and is going to production later this year. At 1,500 kg, it can be shipped anywhere: it fits into standard shipping containers easily, and can be towed by car, or even “pulled by a pack animal,” as the designers say. A camper version is in the works for late 2016.