Rurbanista: The Portable House
A house delivered by semi that you will want to live in.
Architect Camino Alonso likes to think small. “All architects want to make things smaller,” says Alonso, of the Madrid-based firm AÌbaton, and designer of an award-winning prefab dwelling called the Portable House.
“We want to make things that are efficient and absolutely essential. So we decided to make the most essential thing you would need for living.”
‘We want to make things that are efficient and absolutely essential. So we decided to make the most essential thing you would need for living.’
Alonso’s house began as a conceptual experiment in early 2012. This simple rectangular structure is a focused, environmentally thoughtful interpretation of the growing rurban trend for modern design – with, of course, the ability to be off the grid. At first, Alonso says, the audience for the roughly $58,000 house was unknown. But she quickly discovered that if you build it, they will come. Since the first prototype was finished last summer, AÌbaton has fielded calls from people in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, the U.K., Finland, Japan and China, all who want to order a Portable House.
It’s a structure very much of the moment: There is unprecedented demand for prefab houses and off-the-grid kit houses – the American prefab housing market is forecasted to expand 15 percent over the next three years.
But unlike many kit houses, AÌbaton’s Portable House arrives completely ready – even coming with a bed and bathroom and kitchen appliances. Everything but the furniture is included. You can opt for a compost toilet or connect the bathroom plumbing to a normal pump. Solar panels heat the hot water tank inside (so yes, you can have a hot shower) and power electric lights.
A crane deposits the Portable House in its new location.
A side view of the newly placed Portable House.
Opening the wood-and-cement shutters.
The design incorporates high-tech features, Alonso says. “You can, for example, control the heat for different sections of the house with a small computer. Every part is absolutely minimal and efficient and necessary.”
‘Every part is absolutely minimal and efficient and necessary.’
Alonso paid great attention to the details of the house’s materials: The wood used throughout is hypoallergenic and sourced from regulated forests where trees will regrow, providing a wide range of other benefits, such as carbon storage and oxygen generation. The inside panels are made of Spanish fir timber, while the floor is larch wood dyed white. The ventilated exterior, made of both cement and wood, has 12 centimeters of thermal insulation.
Don’t expect a walk-in palace for your clothes, though. There are a few very small closets between the sleeping area and dining room, while the bedroom has storage boxes. Plus, the kitchen and bathroom have lots of shelves and inside hiding places to keep your minimal stuff.
Alonso admits it’s difficult for a house to be so small and remain comfortable. “We had a very clear idea how we wanted it from the inside,” she says, describing the aesthetic as familiar. “That image of a normal house that everyone can recognize.”
The kitchen comes with a refrigerator, sink, microwave and storage space.
View of the living room, where the inside timber panels are made of Spanish fir.
The bedroom can contain a king-size bed, nightstand and bookshelves
Funnily, one of the biggest design challenges of the house was its transportation. “The most difficult part was that it had to fit on a normal truck,” she says.
So what are you waiting for? Right now, the Portable House needs eight weeks to be constructed (although the impatient can pay more to expedite delivery). Once the house is built, it can take as little as 12 days to be delivered to your front door or open field.
Portable, indeed.
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