With land available for building new homes declining at an unanticipated pace, the price of the scarce land available is well beyond what most people can afford. To address this daunting issue designers at People’s Architecture Office and People’s Industrial Design Office have teamed up to create the Tricycle House and the Tricycle Garden. The house, which was showcased at 2012 Get It Louder Exhibition, suggests a future where there could be a temporary relation between homeowners and the land they are occupying.
The experimental house, which as the name suggests is installed on a tricycle, is made using folded plastic. Using a CNC router, each piece of the house is cut and then folded and welded into its shape. The plastic used is polypropylene, which ensures that the house can be folded into any shape without losing its strength.
The folded off-the-grid house can be taken along using a tricycle and can be expanded out like an accordion to make more space inside. Moreover, the house can also connect with other houses to create a community. The plastic used for the construction is translucent and hence allows the interiors to remain illuminated with sunlight during the daytime and street lamps after dark.
Even after being one of the most portable housing solutions we’ve ever come across, the Tricycle House is not dumb on the amenities list. The human-powered off-the-grid house features a sink and a stove, a bathtub, a water tank and furniture that can transform from a bed to a dining table. Arch Daily states that along with the house is a tricycle-mounted portable garden that can be planted with grass, trees and vegetables.
