Do you want to leave this planet right now? I also. Since we can not become truly qualified astronauts and from 2020 onwards are on a mission to get some ‘space’, I found the next best thing – an off-the-grid stay in a rural lander! Boat architect, Kurt Hughes, has designed a small house in Central Washington modeled after the lunar lander module and it’s really as close as our citizens can get to a literally out-of-this-world residence.
Hughes made this little house by hand to combine his love for houses and boats, and although we have seen many small houses that have one that looks like a spaceship capsule it is exciting! Why the moon lands? Because it was a house and a ship. Of course, it’s not as technically complex as a real NASA lunar lander, so life will not require any special training and it will certainly be more enjoyable. Unlike the real Apollo 11 module, this Lunar Lander is very spacious on the inside. The 250-square-foot hexagonal pod weighs 3,000 pounds and sits on the banks of the Columbia River, giving you plenty of open space. There is a small deck for residents to enjoy the view and Hughes tried to make sure the pod had a minimal impact on the surrounding environment.
The house has an open floor plan and two floors with a living room and a bedroom. Now you will not have a crazy view of the cosmic world, but there is a beautiful geodesic roof right to give you a view of the night sky and allow in a lot of natural light. A staircase leads down to the isolated cryogenic bedroom (also known as a bedroom by non-astronaut humans!). The house of the month module is complete with a functioning kitchen and bathroom. There is also a cozy coffee table that can be used for external work as well as for intimate dining. To make it authentic, the house number is written in a font called American Captain Patrius which is the same as found on the original Apollo ships.
The space nerd in me can not help but countdown already… 3… 2… 1… ignition and liftoff of solid rocket booster!
Designer: Kurt Hughes