This transparent glamping pod rotates 360° for a luxurious panoramic view of your surroundings

The term “living in a bubble” may be associated with being disconnected from the harsh realities of the world, but in this case, it’s actually a good thing! The Living O’Pod is an experimental pod house that promotes a better lifestyle through the integration of nature into the home’s design. Designed for two people to comfortably stay in, the pod is shaped like a transparent bubble that sits amongst the wilderness, with a design so minimal, it puts its surroundings front and center. The two-story pod comes with a steel frame as its main structure, and glass panels all around, almost like a glass igloo. While this undeniably does a number on resident privacy, its remote location itself gives you the solitude you need to live with absolute transparency. The obvious benefit? Incredible lighting, stellar views, and probably the best sunrises and sunsets you could enjoy within the comforts of your bed!

Designer: UN10 Design Studio

“Home should be a personal space where you feel secure, creative, and inspired. The next housing concept should nurture the habitant’s soul, mind and also be resilient for the upcoming social, environmental, and technological challenges”, mention the designers at UN10 Design Studio. “Minimal, decentralized but connected, smart, and functional spaces need to be considered instead of the conventional urban fabric. The Living O’Pod is a space where you can communicate with mountains, trees, the sky, and streams.”

The Living O’Pod is a stunning outdoor getaway residence designed for Repovesi, Finland. Located in the woods, the home hopes to bring nature and humans closer, removing the boundaries between them through the use of literal transparent glass panels.  The house comes with two levels, featuring a master bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom, a living room, and a terrace spread across the entire property. The interiors and flooring are made of plywood, continuing the earthy, wooden theme of the forest around the pod, with panoramic views no matter what floor you’re on.

The Living O’Pod even sports a 360° rotation feature that allows the entire cabin to turn on its own vertical axis. This helps maximize the amount of natural light entering different parts of the house, while also giving you the exact view you want, during sunny days or starry nights.

Given its location in the mountainous terrain of Finland, the Living O’Pod comes equipped with a thermal insulating layer and a more-than-capable heating system to ‘ensure normal operation in the winter’. You can take a virtual tour of the pod by clicking here.

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This secluded alpine home comes with three distinct pod-shaped living spaces

Designed as a series of alpine ski-lodge villas for guests looking to live in the lap of luxury on the mountaintops, the ‘Secluded’ glamping cabins come with a unique design that quite literally allows you to have a stunning view with each room. The three-pronged architecture presents a unique benefit, with each room having a full view of different sides of the mountains. With each room angled ever so slightly, they face in different areas, allowing you to see potentially both the sunrise and sunset rather well!

Designer: lichtecht.de

The Secluded lodge is best described as looking like a ‘W’ from up above. The three main rooms – a living space, bedroom, and bathroom, connect to a lobby-space in the center, with doors to enter the property sandwiched between them. All of the lodge’s individual rooms are at an elevation, giving you a view that’s absolutely uncompromised even with heavy snowfall while also ensuring that you feel like you’re floating above the natural beauty around you.

What’s remarkable about the Secluded ski-lodge is its unique approach to architecture. Steering clear away from the traditional archetype of a cabin in the mountains, this lodge boasts of a contemporary minimalist design that nods to the future. The facade is made entirely from metal sheets painted black (for aesthetics and a fair bit of insulation), while windows on the lodge’s rooms extend from top to bottom and left to right without any seam or parting line. The massive glass panel provides a jaw-dropping panoramic view of the mountainside and the fact that the rooms are elevated means people can’t necessarily peer into your private space. All they really would see is the ceilings.

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Designed by former SpaceX, Tesla, & AirBnB employees, this flatpack shelter is the ultimate adventure essential!

Glamping pods are cool but what if I tell you there is a portable shelter literally designed by the best in the game? Jupe is a luxe pod with a sci-fi-inspired design made by a team of multidisciplinary experts from across the housing, architecture, and engineering industries, including former SpaceX, Tesla, and AirBnB team members for modern travelers looking to escape their urban life and dive into nature. The glowing geometric structure and angular surfaces resemble a cut diamond or an interstellar shuttle more than age-old structures like RVs, cabins, tents, or yurts traditionally used for getaways.

Jupe is a portable off-grid shelter that flatpacks so you can pick any spot on the planet and pitch your tent. The futuristic silhouette is inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: Space Odyssey which explains the aluminum pole frame and glowing Firesist fabric exterior which also make it suitable to withstand different climate conditions. The mission was not to make a quick place to stay but to create a gateway to the outside world. It can be assembled in hours and gives you a 111-square foot space featuring tall ceilings, finished Baltic birch wood floors, a queen bed, and a storage area – think something right in the middle of a tiny home and glamping pod.

The large entryway doubles up as a window for your chosen scenery which you can endlessly gaze at from your queen-sized bed. The shelter also includes a 200 amp hour battery and solar array with electrical outlets, USB charging stations, dimmable LED lighting system, and a private wi-fi network if you cannot be completely off the grid. Apart from the bed, it is also furnished with designer pieces like the end tables, a desk + chair, an ottoman, and an average-sized monolith to stay aligned with the cosmos theme. Unlike most small portable shelters, Jupe’s ceilings are 11 feet tall and cloaked in luminous Firesist fabric. Like most tiny homes Jupe also optimizes its space – the Baltic birch wood floors open up to individual storage cubbies totaling 38 cubic feet which is enough space to store ten large suitcases (in case you are on the run).

“Experiencing the natural wonders of the world shouldn’t mean being forced to disconnect while staying in a less-than-inspirational living space,” said Jeff Wilson, co-founder and CEO of Jupe. “Jupe is an out-of-this-city getaway inspired by out-of-this-world ideas. During these times when most of us are craving a true escape, Jupe provides an experience perfectly suited for socially distanced travel.” The interior was designed in collaboration with renowned boutique hotelier Liz Lambert and sustainable architecture expert, TED Prize Winner, and former head of social innovation at AirBnB, Cameron Sinclair. Wilson, a design innovator and expert on modular housing, himself has lived in a 33-square-foot dwelling for a year and is known for founding the award-winning, micro-home Kasita.

Mobility is at the core of Jupe’s design and hence chassis foundation has been created in a way that involves no decking or foundation to be built which makes the shelter adaptable to any terrain, level or not, and leaves the land minimally disturbed. Amenities in the shelter can be upgraded include a Sonos Move speaker integrated with Alexa capabilities, a locking safe, solar panels, and a porch. Jupe is an off-grid escape from the city, whether to the middle of a sprawling desert, a windswept cliff by the sea, or your own backyard.

Designer: Jeff Wilson

Dutch architects upcycle waste into sustainable glamping pods!

The pandemic has given a boost to road trips, local travel, and camping as borders remain shut and air travel increases risks. The easiest way to catch your breath, take a break, and spend time away from home while rejuvenating is to go to a local camping ground! While looking at interesting campsites I found Culture Campsite which was designed by architects to be an urban oasis filled with quirky pods that will give you the escape you’re craving while not ‘wasting’ any resources or time!

A team of Dutch designers and artists transformed a concrete parking lot in Rotterdam’s Delfshaven area into a sustainable urban camping ground making it more accessible for people. There is a range of cool architectural cabins to choose from and they are all built using upcycled and waste stream materials. The idea was to show not tell – this way people could experience living in a sustainable structure themselves and find that it can be incorporated into their lifestyle! The pods are all smaller than a tiny house but way more exciting than a tent because of their unique builds and each of them showcases innovative sustainable elements. Every cabin offers a special experience and my favorite one is the Val Ross cabin because it reminds me of the rocket emoji (yes, I am a space nerd!). Val Ross is Swedish for walrus and is constructed from old animal silos which are tall towers used to store food on a farm. It has one bedroom with a double-bed which is comfortable for 1-2 people. The cabin is insulated for the colder seasons and has a cool circular window like we imagine rockets to have!

“The principle of waste architecture is designing and sketching with the materials and objects that are available. Playing with form, material, and color leads to new insights and forms that cannot be imagined on a white sheet of paper. It requires a different way of designing to change, adapt and merge existing forms,” says Boris Duijenveld, founder of Mud (Mobile Urban Design) Projects and one of the designers from the artistic collaboration that gave us Culture Campsite. Meals will be served at the geodesic done and, yes, there is a communal bathroom area for your other needs. You can also enjoy yoga classes, outdoor activities, and a multi-day course on tiny house design so you can come up with your own sustainable cabin! It is surely different from a traditional camping trip and gives you a little Narnia moment in the city where you can escape to from time to time.

Designer: Mud Projects

Add this circular glamping cabin to your post-pandemic travel list!

As the weekend comes closer, I get drawn into looking at cabins because all I can think of is a few relaxing days away from the collective chaos of the world. I bet all of us feel that way right now and my cabin obsession regularly returns each weekend so I have decided to share my newest find – this conceptual glamping pod called Lara!

The minimal circular cabin is a luxurious treat we deserve! One of Lara’s most exclusive features is a round patio complete with a jacuzzi and a lounging area. While the cabin is envisioned to be set amidst trees to provide privacy, the designer has added a handful of plants to brighten up the woody design of the patio. The white exterior contrasts elegantly with the lush natural location. The tiny cabin’s ground level hosts a sem-circular room with a modern fireplace – the ones where there is a slit in the stone for the flames! It also has a fully functioning bathroom, however, the provisions for a pantry or a small cooking space is missing for now. There is another small seating area just outside the room and the fireplace built inside is also shared by this space through the glass encasement. Even though the glamping pod is small, the sweeping floor to ceiling windows makes the space look bigger while allowing for natural sunlight and ventilation.

Lara is a beautiful getaway house and if a kitchenette is added, I will willingly move here as long as the work from home trend continues. Or maybe I just move there with a grill and then have a 6 month long BBQ party for one to make up for the lost summer of 2020.

Designer: Damijan Koprivc