Dec 13 2010Architect's $1,000 Solar-Powered Egg House
Okay so it's not so much a house as it is a hut, but still. Huts ARE houses to some people. Me? I call the back of a 2001 Explorer Sport home. I don't need a kitchen, In-N-Out invented the drive-thru. I'm being serious, they really did. Suck on that fat straw, Ronald McDongle!
Dai Haifei, a 24-year-old architect in Beijing, China, found an ingenious solution to live rent-free. He built himself a mobile egg-shaped house that is powered by the sun.
The 6-foot-high structure, which is small enough to fit on a sidewalk, is made of bamboo strips, wood chippings, sack bags, and grass seed that's expected to grow in the spring.The pod features a solar panel on the roof that powers a lamp in the cozy space. The house cost around $1,000 to build (6427 yen)
Good lookin', Dai, I'm all for green technology. Unfortunately, what I'm not all for is human shit on the sidewalk, which is why you better move that thing before I set it on fire.
Hit the jump for closeups of the easiest house to break into (tent and box homes excluded).
Beijing architect lives in egg-shaped house on sidewalk [yahoo]
Thanks to The Jeff, who lives in a little bungalow in Los Angeles but had his room-tying rug stolen. No? Not you? Similar name at least.
Reader Comments
1. Omnias - December 13, 2010 5:02 PM
Good for him. That's pretty inovative.
2. Bleh - December 13, 2010 5:08 PM
Renminbiiiiiiiiii....Yuan maybe?
3. Brititny - December 13, 2010 5:09 PM
I wants one 8)
4. -Lmega5- - December 13, 2010 5:09 PM
how do you get out? it doesn't look like he fits =/
5. Rick - December 13, 2010 5:10 PM
I don't see a toilet... or shower. Or running water.... What I do see is a smelly guy in a smelly hut.
Other than that... kind of cool.
6. -Lmega5- - December 13, 2010 5:10 PM
oh wait...i just clickd the jump...
7. K17 - December 13, 2010 5:11 PM
A solar powered house in Beijing, China? Does anybody else find this strange? In the winter, he'll never get enough light through the smog for it to be functional.
8. Grayson - December 13, 2010 5:13 PM
Dude lives in a chia pet. Awesome.
9. K17 - December 13, 2010 5:15 PM
@5: China has public restrooms and bath houses, but when desperate, they also have no qualms about using the sidewalk or an outdoor garden hose.
10. Dishy - December 13, 2010 5:16 PM
Dude looks like a happy cartoon forest animal. Beyond awesome.
11. Turbo - December 13, 2010 5:20 PM
great idea :)
12. scott - December 13, 2010 5:20 PM
there are no windows, so i can't see how much gay sex is in there
possibly needs more gay sex
13. nugget275 - December 13, 2010 5:33 PM
That's all well and good, except for the fact that yen is Japan's currency. What an intelligent source.
14. McFeely Smackup - December 13, 2010 5:44 PM
$1000? WTF? The description of materials is basically the yard waste I haul to the dump every other week in the summer.
The guy spent $1000 to build the worlds least practical TENT.
15. blanket - December 13, 2010 5:58 PM
how is this better than living in a car?
16. atheistgirl - December 13, 2010 6:21 PM
@13. They meant 6,427 yuan ($964).
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-12/01/content_11638327.htm
17. http://www.ConfessionsOfAManwhore.com - December 13, 2010 6:22 PM
It actually looks quite nice on the inside, hardwood floors, paneling, etc. Too bad it looks like donkey sh!t on the outside... and he got evicted.
18. the_tof - December 13, 2010 7:50 PM
@7 lol
So this is what the f**king greenpeace f**gots have done to us. It's now COOL to live in a cardboard box? Hobo chic? Wtf. Have a little dignity and cut down some d**n trees and build a cabin!
19. Colorless - December 13, 2010 8:08 PM
meh I couldn't do it. I sleep in my undies or less and I'd hate to have to park near an all night fast food place to use their bathroom at 3am. Plus the all night fast food place may not have free wireless internet. It may also be illegal to park it for too long on public property.
But yeah, I'd take that camping. I prefer a bed to the ground..
20. Veit - December 13, 2010 8:41 PM
6427 yen is about $75, not $1000. And $75 sounds about right for the materials used.
21. Veit - December 13, 2010 8:43 PM
Oh, I just noted the comment that it should be YUAN, not YEN. That, then, is about $1000 and makes more sense.
22. Jeff - December 13, 2010 10:11 PM
WHERE DO YOU SHIT?
23. The entire population of africa - December 13, 2010 10:30 PM
@27 In the restrooms of nearby shops and restaurants.
24. Megan - December 13, 2010 11:29 PM
It's not really a house, more like an extra fancy sleeping bag.
25. Ihatespam - December 14, 2010 1:30 AM
I hate spam. I hates it. Hatehatehate. Spam is the little white hairs that grows on horse crap. It's the liver based sandwich spread they served at my school's cafeteria. It's the lowest form of internet based literature in existence. If spam were a canned meat substance, I would crush it with a wrecking ball just to watch the gory splatter. There is no excuse for spam. It's a waste of precious bits and bytes. It is the vampire, no the intestinal parasite of comments. It drains the joy and happiness of sardonic internet writings, and leaves a commercialist corpse to wither the souls of anyone who is unfortunate enough to read it.
26. Johnny Egg - December 14, 2010 3:43 AM
First !! :-)
or possibly not.
Damn my egg house and stupid interweb latency.
27. Cody - December 14, 2010 11:01 AM
It's a mobile hobbit hole!
28. Sandy - December 14, 2010 11:02 AM
Can he move it? It doesn't look very mobile, does it...
Though the 'problem' every one else is targetting about washing and general needs regarding human waste wouldn't be a problem for me (I have no shame)
...someone needs to build me a solar-powered transformer home, hmph!
29. DragonReborn02 - December 14, 2010 12:44 PM
@ 20 and @ 14. i would say that a large chunk of the cost came from the solar panel. A typical 50 watt panel would cost between 200-350.
30. Louis - December 14, 2010 1:35 PM
is uncomfortable.
Louis of http://aprettyage.blogspot.com/
31. ciao - comes in bacon flavor - December 14, 2010 2:21 PM
Hey Look! It's Eggman!
32. weicui - December 14, 2010 2:48 PM
Wonderful.
Share a website with you ,
( http://www.buyshopping.us/ )
Believe you will love it.
We accept any form of payment
33. ASOBPAUISGB[ - December 14, 2010 2:48 PM
There's no such character as Eggman. If you know the character as Eggman you are too young to talk to proper people.
34. Eggman - December 14, 2010 3:33 PM
WHO DOUBTS MY EXISTENCE?
35. Snackle - December 14, 2010 4:51 PM
Great idea using grass on the outside walls, seeing how growing grass puts off a decent amount of heat, and is a fantastic insulation. Someone give this man a solar powered cookie.
36. Shelbon - December 14, 2010 5:40 PM
@25 ^_^
37. yi - December 14, 2010 10:42 PM
Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I want one is my room! because i love the idea of making innovative ideas totally redundant.
38. jay - December 15, 2010 3:40 AM
actually Dave Thomas invented the drive thru at Wendy's
39. believe in myself - December 15, 2010 5:09 AM
i think the solar panel made up the bulk of the $1000. anyway, it's only used to light up a small lamp.should be sufficient. @7 : you exaggerate too much.have u ever been there?
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41. McFeely Smackup - December 15, 2010 2:22 PM
...and he has been EGG-victed!
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/15/gimme-shell-ter-chinese-man-evicted-from-giant-egg/?test=latestnews
42. K17 - December 15, 2010 11:16 PM
@39: Yes, I lived there for a year in 2005, prior to their efforts to clean up the air for the Olympics. My exaggeration, though intentional, wasn't far from the truth; for the four winter months, I saw the sun maybe thrice.
43. Uncle B - February 12, 2011 12:49 PM
So many, so affluent. Americans so far out of touch with reality! Even unemployables in America, even those refused decent medical care, live in Shanty villages, shacks, cardboard huts, under over-passes, in gullies, in unlocked sheds, near dump-sites, usually not far from cities, but out of sight of the police, and for good reason!
Egypt, Tunisia, have left the security of the American umbrella, no longer part of the great empire, in search of cheaper food, better living conditions - did you know that fact? Spam makers are offering canned, vitamin enhanced turkey for the starving children in Guatemala, did you know that fact? Eastern Europe remains hungry after decades of coverage by the American Capitalists umbrella, but grumblings are being heard even here. Did you know that fact? Soon, hungry people in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, and other countries all seek better nourishment, better shelter, all American empire protectorates all ready to revolt!
Snide hegemonic American proletariat! Your dollar no longer worth the paper it is printed on! your mindless xenophobia, a sign that your time has come! China will not finance your affluence any longer - they have their own problems!
Soon, in America, Yankee Doodle will seek shelter in his dumps, under passes, shanties, shacks on the outskirts of his dying cities! Google the destruction that was once Detroit City - motor city to the world! Then make your unkind comments! At least this human is self-sufficient or at least trying to be!
44. Borellus - February 27, 2011 4:20 PM
Awesome. I would love to live in one of those. Well Maybe if it was a little bigger.