Madeiguincho | GIZMODO.cz

I love tiny houses but even more if they are designed to be sustainable, energy-efficient, and on wheels – that is exactly what Project Ursa is! The mobile home is made for off-the-grid living featuring solar panels, water harvesting systems, and the coziest interiors that makes the “cabin in the woods” aesthetic into a lifestyle.

Tiny houses on wheels have to have a length of 4m, 5m, and respectively 7m, to be 2,5m wide and to have a maximum height of 4m. The Ursa tiny house is currently located in Cascais, Portugal, and can function completely off-grid.

To ensure that, the roof features a subtle 5% slope which allows rainwater to drain easily into a couple of water tanks with a total capacity of 650 liters. This water is then redirected to the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, and the shower where it’s filtered and reused. After that, the reused water goes into another tank and from there is used for watering plants.

On top of the roof, Ursa features solar panels which are facing South. Their inclination can be adjusted up to 30% in order to maximize the energy product all year round, making this a very efficient off-grid tiny house.

The energy produced by these solar panels is being converted and stored for later uses so the inhabitants can always have energy on demand when needed. Check out our informational article covering solar panel companies if you’re interesting in this subject.

This tiny house offers 17 square meters of living space in total which is organized into a kitchen, a full bathroom with a dry toilet that produces compost, a living area, two sleeping areas, and also an outdoor deck. Of course, each of these spaces is small and they all blend into one another which creates a cozy ambiance inside. This is accentuated by the warmth of the wood used for both the interior and the exterior of the Ursa tiny house.

Designer: Madeiguincho

Normalize adults living and chilling in treehouses because we are certainly going through a lot more than children and this is the escape we need! Cassiopeia is one such shelter that every grown-up dreams of having, it is a treehouse that was born in a garden without a tree for us to disconnect from the virtual world. It has multiple levels, a fire-man pole, a slide, a swing, a zip-line, a net bed, monkey bars and a climbing wall in sculptural form with legs that grow in the garden!

It has utmost privacy and was constructed with a very low impact on the territory. Cassiopeia is a playground for kids at its core but has been designed to provide the same nostalgia and whimsy for adults too. It seeks to touch the ground lightly through clever architectural design and woodworking which also ensures that it is durable and environmentally sustainable.

The contemporary treehouse aims to blend into its surroundings while providing a sanctuary for adults and kids to escape the monotony of everyday life. Especially since the pandemic, people are avoiding public spaces which restrict outdoor activities but Cassiopeia brings that adventure back to your backyard!

Cassiopeia, in astronomy, is a constellation of the northern sky easily recognized by a group of five bright stars forming a slightly irregular W. The multi-level playground is a privileged place to watch the complexity of the universe through the telescope lens.

The foundation of the treehouse is the invisible metal ground screws that give support to columns and beams. “At the top of it, we built the skeleton (interior frame) that receives the skin (walls and roof) that are built with CLT panels painted black that receive a horizontal slatted wood system that follows the treehouse shape,” adds the team.

This project highlights Madeiguincho’s combined heritage of both architecture and carpentry. The Portugal-based studio retains the charm of a traditional treehouse with the warm wooden aesthetic but brings modern architecture into play without needing a tree in the first place. The angular shape, systems for multiple activities, large windows and doors truly encourage us to take a break, play and bring back the innocent joy from our childhood.

Designer: Madeiguincho