Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Anywhere Grid-Less Hosteling For One With Ecocapsule

Ecocapsule is smart house powered purely by the solar and wind energy. It allows people to reach
the frontiers with the luxury of the hotel room. It can serve as micro-house, cottage, pop-up hotel
or even as charging station for electromobiles.
Image Credit: Nice Architects

Anywhere Grid-Less Hosteling For One With Ecocapsule

Ever wonder how hard it would be to live in a space without access to electricity wires from a pole, or water from a pipe, supplied by a societal utility - and further, once achieved, hard hard it would be to replicate the solution?

A group of folks located in the Slovak Republic known as Nice Architects have created an egg shaped living space that hopes to make a living off-the-grid "audience-of-one" a reality and it goes by the name of Ecocapsule.

A 2D top-down view schematic of the Ecocapsule's living space floorplan. Image Credit: Nice Architects

This egg-shaped living space is set to be debuted in Vienna, Austria this month (May 28 & 29, 2015) at a start up show that began in 2012 and has become what Forbes magazine calls "a smarter SXSW (Austin, TX)", the Pioneers Festival.

First functional prototype of the independent micro-house Ecocapsule will be exhibited in the
foyer of the Hofburg palace as a part of Pioneers festival 2015 event in Vienna. Image Credit: Nice Architects

Each unit is equipped with solar panels, a retractable wind-turbine, and a design that captures rain water.


Solor and wind power conversion included. The egg shape enhances water capture from dew or rain which is stored in a tank located underneath the floor and pumped for use in the sink, toilet, or shower. Image Credit: Nice Architects

Inside, the design includes a kitchenette with running water, a flushing toilet, and hot shower.

Interior view from the storage end of the Ecocapsule. One has a hands on environment where one can sleep, cook, shower, deal with personal waste & cleanliness, and have little worry about power assisting in maintaining basic living needs. Image Credit: Nice Architects

The Ecocapsule is suitable for a wide range of human-living applications. Suggestions by Nice Architects include independent research station, a tourist lodge, emergency housing, a humanitarian-action unit ... or as we might suggest at Oblate Spheroid, a personal/office space to be placed in the backyard which eliminates the cost and time consumed complying for the need of permits required by the local government offices.

Urban elbow room without the hassles associated with dealing with permitting. Image Credit: Nice Architects

Place the Ecocapsule on a flatbed trailer, and now one has an actual trailer for grid-less, energy assisted, hosteled comfort for almost any application including ... just camping.

Exterior view shows external and interior storage plus bed. Image Credit: Nice Architects

Those interested in buying one will be able to pre-order at the end of 2015, with delivery in the first half of 2016.

FAQ Section

What is the price of the Ecocapsule?

Price of the Ecocapsule will be announced in the last quarter of the 2015. 

When will  be Ecocapsule available for purchase?

We will start taking pre-orders in the last quarter of the 2015. We expect to start delivering first produced units in the first half of the 2016.

Shipping price - Ecocapsule can fit info standard shipping container, keeping shipping cost low. Here are examples of approximate shipping fees:

Slovakia -New York               2393 USD   2200 Euro

Slovakia-Buenos Aires           1958 USD   1800 Euro

Slovakia-Johannesburg           2937 USD   2700 Euro

Slovakia - Melbourne             1631 USD   1500 Euro

Camper version - We are still developing chassis for the capsule and hopefully we will be ready in late 2016.

Custom versions:

We will be initially offering one version of the Ecocapsule. Later we will extend customization options.

Where can we see it?

First public display of the Ecocapsule will be during Pioneers festival in Vienna (28-29th May 2015).

Later it will be displayed in Slovak national pavilion at Expo 2015.


Basic Specifications:
(ht: Nice Architects)

Dimensions: 


W - 8.366 Feet - 2.55m 
L - 14.599 Feet - 4.45m 
H - 7.381 Feet - 2.25m or 14.763 Feet - 4.5m with extended pole
 

Weight: 3307 lbs. - 1500kg
 

Installed power output: wind 750W / solar 600W
 

Battery capacity: 9744Wh 


TAGS: Ecocapsule, Pioneers Festival, SXSW, Forbes, Slovak Republic, Nice Architects, Vienna, Austria,