Paco Cube Prefab Vacation House
by Kelsey Keith
With its three meter square Paco Cube, Schemata Architecture Office reinvents the vacation house. The space age looking portable living cube with stark white epoxy interior was designed by architect Nagasaka Hisashi to be equally at home on a beach, in a forest or inside an industrial loft. Think of it as an upgraded tent, as conceptual in nature as it is multi-functional.
The wonder is in Paco Cube's layout, as the readymade kit includes a kitchen, shower, toilet, sleeping hammock, desk and lighting. The details of the space would make the curators of MoMA's prefab exhibition proud: the roof unlatches with hydraulic lifts (strong enough to hold the hammock when the hatch is open); sheer yet waterproof fabric encases the shower; the kitchen includes a tiny door to the outside for barbecuing; and the skylight and two LED 60 watt light fixtures keep things nice and green.
The unit (¥6,300,000) includes standard hook-ups so it can be plugged in to a direct water supply, electric water heater, sewage system and power lines.
