‘Walking House’ Designed to Beat Floods

The world’s first ‘walking house’ has debuted in Copenhagen, Denmark, hailed by its creators as “the ultimate property” that will help people escape the ravages of floods. The structure, which stands on six hydraulic legs, was designed by art collective N55 in Copenhagen along with engineers in Massachusetts.

From The Daily Mail:

The 10ft high home is solar and wind powered and can stroll at walking pace across all terrains.

Designers say it provides a solution to the problem of rising water levels as the house can simply walk away from floods.

Like normal homes, it comes equipped with a living room, kitchen, toilet, bed and wood stove.

However, the house can walk thanks to a mainframe computer which controls the legs.

Helen Robinson of the Wysing Arts Centre said; ‘This is far more than a caravan. It’s all about sustainable living – it can sustain a life for many years.

This is a cool idea, but come on – it’s hardly a practical solution for low-income people. The prototype cost £30,000 ($47,556) to build, and that’s not counting the land it sits on. Though designers claim it can be constructed for less, it still wouldn’t likely be inexpensive enough to be realistic for most of the people who would benefit most from a flood-proof home. Plus, it’s so small.

Good thinking, though – it’s incredibly innovative.  We’d like to see the designers build on this idea and find a way to make it more applicable to the communities that have the most to lose in a flood, like the New Orleans area, the west coast of Africa and Bihar, India.

Link [The Daily Mail]

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