The Swissbau exhibition, in Basel, Switzerland, this year saw the first public debut of an innovative new concept. Dubbed the ‘Self’, this living module is a temporary dwelling that can fit a large number of uses. Designed and built by the Empa and Eawag research institutes, the portable container accommodating two persons is designed as a living area and workplace.
The Self blends new standards of home concepts with energy efficiency. Giving the convenience of portability is the compact dimension of about 7.7 meters in length and 3.2 meters in height. With a kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom, the container doesn’t need external water supplies. Rainwater collected on the roof is treated to make it potable and gray water is also recycled. A transparent 200-liter fresh water tank in the living room gives the occupants the idea about the amount water they consume.
The designers are also thinking of adding hydrogen capabilities to the module, in order to bring electrolysis to use to produce hydrogen for cooking and heating. The shell of the Self is made of glass fiber reinforced polymer sandwich. High performance vacuum insulating panels provide thermal insulation, while a heat exchanger warms the fresh air using heat extracted from the exhaust air stream. No electric power goes into water filtration process and the toilet consumes just one liter of water per flushing cycle.
Via: Softpedia