Red glass house on top of catamaran gives you an amazing aquatic view

If I had the money and the means to have a semi-permanent home on the seas, I probably would want to have a yacht where I can bring my loved ones too whenever they would want to just get away from the concrete jungle and chill. Alas, that will probably remain a dream but that doesn’t mean I cannot daydream through these concepts and designs that show what life on water can look like.

Designer: Jacopo Leoni

The Cube Houseboat is a concept for a floating luxury house that is inspired by the Modernist movement and Swiss-French designer Le Corbusier. The red glass house is made from a fusion of alloy and reinforced glass built on top of an aluminum catamaran. The main star is something called the Fly Deck which is a single, superstructure deck that can be accessed through external stairs. You’ll be able to get a good view of the surrounding waters as well as a custom pool. Inside the main bedroom, there is also a Commercial Jacuzzi in case you need somewhere to relax even more.

The Semi Hulls that is located just below the main deck is where you’ll be able to see the machinery spaces, tanks, and chain lockers. In other words, you’ll get all the functional stuff in that section of the boat. And in case you have your other “sea toys” on board, they’ll be housed in the stern area for easy access in case you need to play. The Bow Area is for mooring and the entire boathouse has two propellers for propulsion and they’re powered by a diesel engine.

While it’s considered to be a red glass house, it can also be changed to a different color if red is not your vibe. The glass house on top of a catamaran seems a pretty minimalist but luxurious space to stay in when you just want to relax on top of water and enjoy the view surrounded by aquatic life. This is actually the third vessel concept that the Leoni Design Workshop has come up with for the Beyond Horizons: A Voyage through Yacht Design event.

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Embrace the Halcyon houseboat that feels unconfined and at one with nature

There are houseboats that exude luxury and there are other vessels designed to make uniform flow between outdoors and indoors. Welcome aboard the Halcyon, where luxury and openness find a new definition!

This extraordinary floating dwelling, designed by Jolson, summons you to escape the hustle of daily life and immerse yourself in a world of serenity and enchantment in a houseboat designed as an idyllic retreat, seamlessly blending modern design with nature’s splendor.

Designer: Jolson

Halcyon’s primary design philosophy revolves around harmonizing the interior with the breathtaking surroundings. It’s Jolson’s architectural expertise and understanding of the local environment together that make this a vessel of dreams on Lake Eildon, near Melbourne.

To feel unconfined and at one with nature, the Halcyon interior decor draws inspiration from the great outdoors, ensuring that the boat becomes an extension of its stunning vista. Here, the sawn-cut timber floorboards with their rugged texture seamlessly flow into the furnishings and effortlessly blur the lines between indoor and outdoor decor.

The houseboat has a partially covered top floor that offers a 360-degree panorama unfold right before your eyes. This versatile living space can be used to unwind, dine, and entertain. A linear bar, equipped with top-notch kitchen and bar amenities, invites you to indulge in delectable meals and refreshing drinks.

Descending to the middle floor you are greeted by four-bedroom suites, ensuring privacy and tranquility away from the boat’s decks and passageways. Further down is the shared living areas on the ground floor embracing the surrounding water through its windows. The unique window design allows the sides of the houseboat to slide open, transforming the interior into a luxurious outdoor living room surrounded by water.

The ultimate showstopper still is Halcyon’s glass staircase, located strategically in front of the windows, that not only connects its three floors but also invites natural light to illuminate the interior. This thoughtful architectural touch ensures that every corner of the houseboat is infused with warmth and brightness.

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This 3-in-1 tiny camper, trike, and boat combo is actually an electric home on land and water

Outdoor enthusiasts wanting a sustainable adventure partner for riding on land and water with equal convenience, would fall for the Z-Triton 2.0 instantly. This amphibious mobile home is a combination of a tricycle, boat, and a camper in one, that can accommodate a couple on an uninterrupted journey across continents or on short weekend romantic trips too.

The brainchild of designer and adventure cyclist Aigars Lauris of Latvia, the Z-Triton 2.0 is a refined, production-ready version of the Z-Triton prototype released in 2020. Despite being fully functional, the prototype required improvements in design and construction to make it the revolutionary ride that people could take on their travel to explore the outdoors. Finally, after one-and-a-half years of R&D and development, the market-ready Z-Triton 2.0 is revealed. It has been successfully tested in the Swiss Alps, Paris, Lake Geneva, Amsterdam, and Berlin. According to Lauris, everyone who has tried or tested the Z-Triton has really been awed by the convenience, technology, and utility of this trike, boat and camper combo.

Designer: Aigars Lauris

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Z-Triton 2.0 is now more spacious (in comparison to the prototype) with the use of fiberglass body and steel frames holding the entire contraption together. The striking blue trike-camper has parts 3D Printed from bioplastic and uses polyester made from recycled plastic bottles. The eco-friendliness of the Z-Triton 2.0 is not limited to its construction. In fact, it is powered by an electric battery and has solar panels on its roof to take care of the power needs. There is no definite word on the capacity of the battery, but it’s confirmed that it would prove 31 miles (50km) range in bike mode and 12 miles (20km) on water.

Weighing over 200kg, the Z-Triton 2.0 has been slightly redesigned from the prototype to provide an adjustable seat, which is unusually high. Even though the seven-gear ride is more comfortable for two with rear suspensions, hydraulic disk brakes, and electric bike motor for assistance. The spacious interiors of the camper – that works both on land and water – attached to the trike, allows a couple to sit or sleep comfortably. Shifting from land to water mode is quick and easy, it takes under five minutes to convert by folding the bike wheels, adding stability floats, and lowering the electric boat motor from the cabin. In no time the Z-Triton 2.0 is ready for the waves. Like a regular boat, there are controls onboard, so you’re in complete control of your vehicle. In case it runs out of power, the boat is attached with oars to manually paddle your way to safety.

Equipped with everything you’ll need on your journey over land and water, the Z-Triton 2.0 comes with storage for luggage, has USB charging ports, a Bluetooth radio, and of course a GPS onboard. For the convenience of the travelers, the Z-Triton 2.0 also features a folding table (for dining and working) and a planter you can maybe carry your favorite plant in for adventures where you go. The Z-Triton 2.0 is now available for preorder and is likely to be available in the US in 2023. Europe deliveries are expected to begin toward the end of 2022 starting at €14,500 ($16,300).

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This shipping container has been repurposed into a floating home that adapts to changing sea levels!

When you are apartment hunting in New York City, one of the common phrases used is “it’s the size of a container” to indicate how tiny the home is. But what if when you say “container” you actually mean a floating modern home off the Rockaway peninsula in Jamaica Bay? Or you could call it Kairu House! This two-story home crafted from shipping container materials and sapele wood is designed to rise and fall with the natural changes in sea level as we battle climate change. Kairu is a variation of the Japanese word for frog which is an homage to the water-based home.

The area is still recovering from Hurricane Sandy even after a decade and could use innovative reconstruction. That is where Kairu House comes in as an affordable, sustainable, and resilient home. It will become the primary residence for the founder and principal architect of Rekstur and his family. The main building is made of two 40-feet-tall shipping containers. The repurposed containers are cut in half (diagonally) and stacked on top of each other to make separate floors. The two steel sectional barges were welded together to create a single platform for the house which is docked at a local marina. It is spacious on the inside and the interiors are contemporary, modern, and bring in natural light and add a playful aesthetic with colorful accents.

The 470-square-feet home includes a bedroom, bathroom, and living space on the first floor. The second floor is where you will find a kitchen, dining room, and two gorgeous decks that overlook the bay. The awning windows have been made from repurposed doors while the staircase and framed front door are custom-made from steel. I personally love the stone bathroom sink which is a fun accent piece and also other details like the black granite kitchen counters and the kitchen backsplash made from handmade turquoise tiles!

“The goal of the project was to build a resilient, sustainable residence that responded to the needs of the environment but didn’t sacrifice the comforts of modern living. Building and living on water has been an incredible experience. Architecture on water has a more immediate need to be in tune with natural surroundings, and I’m grateful that this project has put me in closer touch with the local environment,” said Rekstur’s principal architect Adam Wiesehan. I, for one, would move in to a floating house in New York City in a heartbeat because rats cannot swim and I would have incredible views!

Designer: Rekstur

Inspired by fishing boats, this houseboat’s compact lifestyle is entirely sustained through solar energy!

Floating idly by the waters of Lake Tisza, a small, white houseboat called Sneci carries a city-dwelling couple who call the tiny vessel home. Tamás Bene, a Hungary-based architect, designed Sneci with sustainability and mobility bringing him his main inspiration. The couple, originally from Budapest, sought Bene out to build a summer home that wasn’t grounded or fixed but embedded in the beauty of The Great Hungarian Plain’s Lake Tisza.

Sneci’s pace might mimic its namesake, ‘the snail,’ with a smaller 9.9 internal combustion engine, but Bene and his clients wanted a houseboat that could bring them through Lake Tisza’s curving waterways slowly. In fact, Sneci was built for leisure. After all, the fisher’s lifestyle, which inspired the boat’s overall design, has a way of slowing things down. Bene looked to other boats dotted along Lake Tisza’s shoreline, like fishing boats, for their compact, yet functional operation – hoping to maintain an overall small size and adaptivity standard so that the houseboat’s residents could move modestly on the water, but purposefully indoors. Managing to incorporate a small kitchen, dining area, and double bed in Sneci’s small space, Bene paneled the boat’s interior walls with thermo-wood and Redwood timber. Since designers structure fishing boats primarily according to each fisher’s needs, the final vessel prioritizes practicality above aesthetics. Hoping to find a way to bridge the two, Bene maintained the houseboat’s inherent minimalism in maintaining a compact living space, while integrating subtle, nautical design accents for both the boat’s interior and exterior. Most of Sneci’s exterior cladding and structure are built from aluminum and then covered with a stately, snow-white coating. Besides aluminum, Bene utilized heat-treated thermo-wood for Sneci’s roof, decking, and back wall. Smaller portholes provide the interior living space with views of the lake and a larger, floor-to-ceiling door offers a fuller view and opens up to the houseboat’s bow deck and the artificial lake’s outdoor wonders.

However, building Sneci to blend in with Lake Tisza’s shoreline shrubbery and trees required some energy-efficient sources of power for a water system and electricity. Two solar panels line Sneci’s roof and generate enough electricity to power up electrical equipment in the houseboat’s tiny kitchen, which includes a small refrigerator, light fixtures, and one gas-powered stove plate. The kitchen’s sink requires no electricity since drinking water can be obtained through a foot pump that delivers water from a 20-liter bottle. Tamás Bene said, “We aimed to design a boat capable of assimilating into these surroundings, one that may become part of this scenery.” With a fully-contained water system, an energy-efficient source of electricity, and a modular, compact living space – I think it’s safe to say, he completed what he set out to design.

Designer: Tamás Bene

This houseboat was designed to blend in the natural landscape & encourage sustainable travel

A young couple who were living in a modest apartment in Budapest reached out to architect Tamás Bene to design a small houseboat on Lake Tisza which would be their summer getaway home. They only had one ask – the structure would allow them to be immersed in nature so they could express their love for the region. The houseboat was a perfect concept that fulfilled their wishes without being fixed or grounded just like the river Tisza which is the source of lake’s thriving ecosystem.

The compact houseboat gives the residents an opportunity to spend time closely in the natural environment and even move their location if they feel like. The floating cabin has been designed to blend into the existing landscape so the residents get a chance to experience the surroundings on an intimate level. Bene drew inspiration from traditional cabin fishing boats for the form while optimizing the small space to include a small kitchen, dining table and sleeping area. For a nautical aesthetic, circular windows were added and the interior features warm timber finishes. The essence of the structure will remind you of the organically shape the waterside huts, dinghies and boats.

“The movement of this compact living space intends to enable its occupants to approach the atmosphere of their natural environment as closely as possible – insofar as nature has an ‘atmosphere’. The boat gives us an opportunity to spend time, eat, drink, sleep and awaken nearly anywhere, while blurring the boundaries between our personal selves and nature itself. This region has a special character not only in terms of its wildlife, but also because of the human-built environment that connects the river and the lake,” adds Bene. This houseboat is minimal, cozy and a seamless part of the lake without disturbing the ecosystem – perhaps in future Bene can team up with local communities and design more cabins that promote sustainable traveling!

Designer: Tamás Bene

This electric tiny camper is a houseboat and trike designed to travel on land and water!

Just to be fully prepared for all possibilities 2020 can bring, Zeltini has designed Z-Triton – an electric houseboat that does it all! The concept of having a vehicle that is a house, boat, and trike combined that travels over land and water is something straight out of a Spy Kids movie but Zeltini really came through with a real one!

The Z-Triton Electric Houseboat was created as a vehicle that could serve as an alternative to the traditional camper. It is comfortable enough to house two adults for a weekend getaway and the choice of land or water is up to the travelers. The amphibious nature of the modern camper fits into the flexible lifestyle we lead today, especially since air travel is not on the cards anytime soon it is opening up a lot of avenues for local trips in less popular/offbeat locations. The durable houseboat measures 3.6 meters in length, 1.2 meters in width, and 1.55 meters in height.

The team is testing the prototype by driving it around in different weather conditions to see if this tiny electric camper can be an all-terrain travel vehicle. It uses electric assistance that lets the users control power, lighting, temperature, and more. Simply fold up the seat and it unveils the floor space for two people to lay down. This quirky blue and orange vehicle has a tricycle mounted on one side that conveniently folds up or down to transition from land to water. Z-Triton will encourage more sustainable tourism and will allow people to travel spontaneously. It is scheduled to hit the market in 2021 and I am already making a list of places I want to take it to!

Designer: Zeltini