source: privateislandsonline.com
Modular island living for the free spirit
For the environmentally conscious island owner bored with traditional house or cabin designs, look no further than Free Spirit Spheres, an innovative, eco-friendly new concept in modular housing.
Conceived and developed in Qualicum, British Columbia, a region rich with coniferous rainforest, Free Spirit Spheres are the ultimate concept in low-impact development. These designs literally hang from trees, solidly suspended by rope webbing tied to four main anchor points at the top and bottom of the sphere. Using the forest as its foundation, the design is strong enough to sustain the weight of the sphere, its occupants and its contents as high as 120 feet above the ground. While only 500 kilograms in weight, the spheres themselves are spacious and well-appointed, comfortably insulated to temperatures as low as -20 celsius.
The idea celebrates the natural environment, recognizing that the best way to live in a natural setting is to mimic nature itself. “In a dynamic environment, like a forest canopy in a storm,” writes Tom Chudleigh, the mind behind the design, “it pays to mimic a natural system like a spider web.” With a diameter of over ten feet and an attractive, open-concept interior layout, Free Spirit Spheres are the best way to experience the amazing natural beauty of your island while feeling distinctly a part of it.
The spheres are available in two designs. The first, Eve, is the prototype, nine feet in diameter with two windows, double bed, a galley area and wired for power and sound. Eryn, the larger of the two, has five windows, sleeps three in a loft bed, and includes a galley with a sink, refrigerator and microwave.
They are available both prefabricated in a beautiful Sitka spruce/fiberglass design or as part of a kit, with a price as attractive as the concept itself.
It’s an idea, Chudleigh writes, stemming from the combination of many ideas focused on renewing man’s place in nature. “People living in tough little ping pong balls attached to stretchy ropes,” he says, “evolving and awakening as they go. Think it might catch on?”
