THE WALKING HOUSE BY N55
Text & Photography by Shermeen Beg
Danish architects and activists at N55 have developed a walking house in order to live nomadically with little impact on the environment. This modular dwelling unit, measuring 3.5m high by 3.5m wide and 3.72m long, allows for people to move through cities and villages. The designers say the house was constructed to move at a pace similar to human speed (the walking house can cover a decidedly leisurely 60 meters an hour on its six insect like legs) because, “walking often helps a person concentrate their thoughts and creates a mental state that enforces mobility of the mind”, which suggests that anyone feeling stressed could benefit from getting out and taking the house for a walk. To maintain stability, 3 of the 6 legs must remain on the ground at any given time.
The low environmental impact is achieved by use of solar panels and micro windmills that gather energy. Systems to collect rainwater are also incorporated. Water may be heated via the solar panels, and potentially a greenhouse can be added to the basic unit to provide a substantial part of the food needed by the inhabitants and a composting toilet system allows sewage to be disposed of.
One of the most important by-products of the walking house is the extinction of land ownership. According to the website manifesto; ‘The Walking House requires no permanent use of land and thereby challenges ownership of land and suggests that all land should be accessible for all persons.’ While this style of nomadic living is definitely not unknown to us, the walking house itself takes precedence from the traditional Romani carriages of the 18th century. So I was curious to see this insect like form, would it be in fact more comfortable than a Recreational Vehicle (RV)?
Danish architects and activists at N55 have developed a walking house in order to live nomadically with little impact on the environment. This modular dwelling unit, measuring 3.5m high by 3.5m wide and 3.72m long, allows for people to move through cities and villages. The designers say the house was constructed to move at a pace similar to human speed (the walking house can cover a decidedly leisurely 60 meters an hour on its six insect like legs) because, “walking often helps a person concentrate their thoughts and creates a mental state that enforces mobility of the mind”, which suggests that anyone feeling stressed could benefit from getting out and taking the house for a walk. To maintain stability, 3 of the 6 legs must remain on the ground at any given time.
The low environmental impact is achieved by use of solar panels and micro windmills that gather energy. Systems to collect rainwater are also incorporated. Water may be heated via the solar panels, and potentially a greenhouse can be added to the basic unit to provide a substantial part of the food needed by the inhabitants and a composting toilet system allows sewage to be disposed of.
One of the most important by-products of the walking house is the extinction of land ownership. According to the website manifesto; ‘The Walking House requires no permanent use of land and thereby challenges ownership of land and suggests that all land should be accessible for all persons.’ While this style of nomadic living is definitely not unknown to us, the walking house itself takes precedence from the traditional Romani carriages of the 18th century. So I was curious to see this insect like form, would it be in fact more comfortable than a Recreational Vehicle (RV)?
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