This micro hotel structured from repurposed sea freight containers is energy-efficient and modular for the modern traveler!

My Home, from German architecture firm Containerwerk, is a line of temporary hotel living quarters constructed from recycled sea freight containers for an energy-efficient, affordable, and micro-sized escape for the modern traveler.

Modern design wears many faces. From smart micro-technology to DIY minimalist architecture, the design of tomorrow is changing. Shipping containers also seem to nod towards the future. Championing a new charge of contemporary hotel concepts and travel solutions, repurposed shipping containers have become the shell for travelers across the globe.

My Home, a solution-based hotel solution, was designed by Germany-based architecture firm Containerwerk to provide a line of temporary living quarters for the modern traveler. Comprising a line of 21 hotel modules in the guise of repurposed sea freight containers, My Home was conceptualized specifically to provide company employees with hotel accommodations that don’t skimp out on elevated design elements or maximal comfort.

Affordability and design elements that feel high-end are among today’s top criteria when it comes to hotels. Adding to that, the architects at Containerwerk note, “ Guests’ expectations in terms of design and comfort are rising, and at the same time, sustainable hotel concepts are in demand.”

Enter My Home–completed in February 2020, the energy-efficient modules that make up the line of repurposed shipping containers measure 26sqm and are kept warm during colder months through a patented, high-performance insulation method. Constructed to fit four people comfortably, each module contains enough room for a fully equipped kitchenette, private terrace, separate entrance, light-flooded dining, and working area.

Lined with solar panels and bolstered with locally-sourced timber building material, each module that makes up My Home is built on a commitment to sustainability and practicality.

The supplemental luxuries that outfit most hotels, such as daily room cleaning and freshening up of bed linens aren’t forgotten with My Home either. Containerwerk developer suggests, “It is important to me that every guest feels at home. The apartments offer a feel-good factor, privacy, and yet maximum flexibility.”

Designer: Containerwerk

In order to start and finish the My Home project from a sustainable vantage point, the shipping containers require little to no excavation during the construction process. 

For their versatile geometric shape, each repurposed shipping container becomes a stackable module that doubles the interior living space when put together.

An alternative anchoring process that involves welding allows each module to station to the floor with little alteration to the terrain’s original state. 

The post This micro hotel structured from repurposed sea freight containers is energy-efficient and modular for the modern traveler! first appeared on Yanko Design.

Semi-trailers transform into luxury caravans in Poland’s first mobile hotel chain concept!

Good Spot is Poland’s first mobile hotel chain built from renovated isothermal refrigerated semi-trailers found abandoned throughout Poland.

While some of us are ready to commit to the mobile lifestyle, the rest of us want a trial period. Mobile hotels are cropping up in response. Ranging from floating hotels to camp trailers, mobile hotels are even inspiring many to continue with their own mobile lifestyle following checkout.

Inspired by the mobile lifestyle and the movement of wind, Wrocław-based architecture and interior design firm Znamy sie constructed Good Spot, Poland’s first mobile hotel chain concept that transforms disused isothermal refrigerated semi-trailers into two-bedroom mobile campers.

Following a kitesurfing trip in Poland’s coastal town of Hel, the designers at Znamy sie set out to conceptualize a mobile hotel chain designed for guests to travel wherever the wind brings them. Honing in on the hotel’s mobility concept, Znamy sie first coated each dilapidated isothermal refrigerated semi-trailer with a stainless steel exterior similar to the Airstream caravan. Inside each trailer, the designers outfitted the perimeter with all of the amenities and functional elements found in hotels.

Reserving the perimeter of each trailer for the amenities provided more interior walking room, carving out a spacious walking path from one end of the trailer to the other. Custom-built wooden furnishings wrap around the perimeter of Good Spot trailers that include plenty of storage space and seating. Accommodating up to four adults, both ends of Good Spot trailers host two separate sleeping areas where large windows help draw in natural light, brightening the interior’s crisp, white walls even further.

Through Good Spot, Znamy sie remains committed to ecological tourism by bringing new purpose to discarded semi-trailers and providing the off-grid means to explore all of Poland’s natural beauty. Speaking to this, Znamy sie says, “Our project, prepared in cooperation with Good spot, involves upcycling, i.e. increasing the value of the material and changing the purpose of cold storage to hotel rooms. By renovating the trailer, we give it a second life!”

Designer: Znamy sie

 

These conic ecotourism cabins designed with bamboo framing offer panoramic views of Mexico’s natural beauty!





Stationed atop turquoise rivers and surging waterfalls, Cocoon Villas comprise an ecotourism village in Mexico’s Huasteca potosina region.

Located in Mexico’s San Luis Potosí, Huasteca potosina is a geographical and cultural region known for its myriad waterfalls, turquoise river streams, huge canyons, and lush jungle ecosystems. While it’s one of Mexico’s best-kept secrets, people from across the world visit the region for its extreme sports attractions, cenotes, and hiking trails. Adding to the region’s slim catalog of eco-friendly architecture and tourist accommodations, GAS Architectures unveiled visuals for a cluster of conic, ecotourism villas called Cocoon Villas located in the verdant woodlands of Huasteca potosina.

Located next to the river, the Cocoon Villas as currently envisioned offer panoramic views of the surrounding environment through a glass facade that’s crisscrossed with diamond bamboo joists. The diamond bamboo framing supports and protects each villa’s structure with natural waterproof and insect repellent properties, similar to Kevlar. Each villa comprises two floors, the ground level is reserved for social gatherings whereas the top floors are kept for sleeping and panoramic vista points.

In addition to its protective measures, the bamboo joists play with the natural sunlight to form unique shadows throughout the home during the day.

Then at night, the diamond bamboo support framing offers only a touch of privacy, not that you’d need it in the Huasteca potosina jungle.

Ecotourism is an essential subset of tourism, especially in regions like Huasteca potosina–a bountiful, natural oasis in Mexico not well known outside of the country. Ecotourism helps to preserve and sustain natural wonders like Husteca potosina. The cluster of Cocoon Villas from GAS Architectures was designed to immerse visitors in the beauty and adventure of Husteca potosina without disrupting its wilderness.

Designer: GAS Architectures

Neutral beige tones fill out the interior of Cocoon Villas to form a bright, open space during the day.

Outfitted with crescent-shaped pools and a lounge area, each Cocoon Villa would come with its own outdoor deck space.

The cluster of Cocoon Villas forms a tight-knit community. 

The decks are oriented in ways so privacy is always accessible.

This modular hotel concept merges environmentalism with escapism, making it the ideal retreat for 2021!


Koto Design, a team of architects and designers known for constructing Scandinavian-inspired modular homes and small buildings, has recently teamed up with Aylott + Van Tromp, an experience-driven design and strategy team, to deliver Hytte, a new modular hotel concept. The collaboration was one born of the times. With the onset of COVID-19 came socially distancing regulations, which put a damper on a lot of our travel plans. However, the regulations have also brought us closer to a collective quest for community and a renewed sense of environmentalism. Noticing this, Koto Design and Aylott + Van Tromp conceptualized Hytte.

Similar in appearance to Koto Design’s existing geometric cabins, Hytte is a modular concept that delivers clusters of cabin units to landowners, developers, and operators who hope to provide an escapist experience to guests looking for a retreat or holiday. The makers at Koto Design and Aylott + Van Tromp design and build everything from the ebony black exterior to the cabin’s refined interiors. Merging with the natural surroundings, the cabins capture a minimalist Nordic design, with a soothing balance of natural wood and marbled stone interiors. Inside the units, guests will find a single room with a wood stove fireplace, a sunken bed that merges with a nearby window bench and storage area, a separate bathroom, and finally, a cathedral skylight that brings guests even closer to the outdoors.

Each concept is based around a single cabin unit, which can increase to a cluster of multiple modular units, reinforcing the comfort of a community that socially distanced regulations have curbed by means of hotel shutdowns and resort modifications. In constructing the modular concept of Hytte, Koto Design and Aylott + Van Tromp hope to reinstill a sense of community for those looking for a retreat and to present it in settings that encourage guests to reflect on the relationship between travelers and their environment.

Designers: Koto Design x Aylott + Van Tromp

Hytte cabins merge with the surrounding outdoors no matter where they’re placed.

Reinforcing a traditional sense of community, Hytte can accommodate clusters of cabins.

“Hytte redefines prefabricated, modular hotels and retreats dedicated to creating space for escapism.”

Ebony-stained wooden panes line the exterior of each cabin unit.

Come night, each cabin blends into the darkness, emanating only the light that comes from indoors.

Each bathroom in Hytte’s cabins comes equipped with storage areas, a shower, and a wash basin.

Hytte’s cabins include a king-sized sunken bed that merges with the unit’s glass windows.

“They are fully constructed & fitted out and furnished within the factory and will arrive on site ready to be used.”