Comments on: Loftcube

Loftcube

oflinkey — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 17:39:01 -0800

Loftcube. I saw this in Playboy and had to look it up. [Flash and music].

By: oflinkey

oflinkey — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 17:42:52 -0800

I am reminded of an article I read some years back in the New York Times magazine. An author- I have forgotten his name- had a small workspace built in his backyard. I can't find that article, bit I am intrigued by the idea of what Playboy essentially promoted as a treehouse where girls definitely are allowed, and what to me looks like a high-end trailer without wheels.

By: graventy

graventy — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 17:54:37 -0800

So, it's like a post-modern trailer park on top of a building? Neat idea though, I'd love to have had one while I was in college. Get a full view of the campus, party, sit in the rooftop swimming pool thing. Pretty sweet.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:03:30 -0800

sleek! I'd love to have one of those on my roof. On a related, yet much rougher note, people have been making houses out of shipping containers.

By: Mo Nickels

Mo Nickels — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:09:08 -0800

Looks cool, but I have unanswered questions: 1. Heating and cooling. Where are they? All those windows mean lots of heat in the summer time. The reflective surface of many roofs means lots of heat in the summer time. The space underneath the cube means another surface from which heat will escape in the winter. So temperature control is more important than it might be. 2. How do you clean those white stones in the shower? Do you just get replacements every month or so, like cat litter? 3. Can they be made to interlock like Legos?

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:09:49 -0800

I don't think that people who pay top dollar for the penthouse suite are going to much appreciate someone dropping one of these on their roofs. I mean, if you can plop your little cube on top of the most expensive apartment in the city, someone else is going to put his cube on top of your cube, ad infinitum. Right?

By: wendell

wendell — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:17:25 -0800

someone else is going to put his cube on top of your cube, ad infinitum. Then they need to put a warning label on the side of each cube saying "Do not stack more than X high."

By: thebabelfish

thebabelfish — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:17:54 -0800

amberglow, that shipping container link reminded me of this story on Kuro5hin.

By: MonkeyMeat

MonkeyMeat — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:20:35 -0800

Found it in Playboy, eh? "I read it for the hyperlinks!"

By: quam

quam — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:44:39 -0800

Where is the toilet?

By: uncanny hengeman

uncanny hengeman — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:47:26 -0800

oflinkey, graventy, that's the very first thing I thought of, too. Just a really cleverly marketed trailer (we call 'em caravans in Oz!). A few years ago in Australia, it was suggested that prisoners be housed in refurbished shipping containers to alleviate overcrowded prisons in some areas. An "uproar" ensued. Prisoner rights groups and various lobbyists were against it. But funnily enough (as far as I can tell) there wasn't much substance to their arguments. I mean, they were gonna put windows and air conditioning in the bloody things. Their pathetic arguments were kinda like "you can't house prisoners in shipping containers coz it's... erm... just gross! You just can't, OK!!"

By: rafter

rafter — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:51:03 -0800

Wait. So did I miss the toilet? And no privacy is offered to guests, right? You just gotta buck up and shower out in the open (and let's hope your roof access is restricted and that yours is the highest roof on the block!) Also, no storage space to speak of. Cool as hell though. Definitely.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:54:42 -0800

interesting story, thebabelfish--but i'd live in a few, cantilevered and stationary, with windows punched out. : >

By: Witty

Witty — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 19:47:02 -0800

I would expect that the roof in question would need to be ABLE to accept the new weight something this would obviously bring. The website presents these things as though every rooftop in a given city is available. I just don't think that's at all the case. I think the designer's have their spirits headed in the right direction. But I can't see this idea really taking off.

By: erisfree

erisfree — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 20:39:28 -0800

batteries and port-a-toilet sold separately? (meh, i'd still want one)

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 21:24:37 -0800

allow me to be the first to scream in horror and dismay. AAAAHHHHGGHHH OK, consider this: cheaply manufactured + rooftop pool = disaster in the works, for starters. If pod homes are your jones, wotabout container condos? I think there was a different yet similar link right around here somewhere, but I've misplaced it amid the detritus of 75 years of misguided millenarian podvisions of the architectural future. My bad. Maybe I'm too married to the dumpster, or something. Good link, tho'.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 21:26:06 -0800

D'oh. Missed amberglow's similar link. Add it to my tab, barkeep.

By: benstewart

benstewart — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 21:39:44 -0800

I, for one, wouldn't mind (temporarily) living in one of these refurbished shipping containers. :)

By: majcher

majcher — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 22:16:31 -0800

This has been floating around the usual channels for a while, but I recently saw it again in ReadyMade, or Dwell, or one of those hipster living magazines. Anyway, what caught my eye this time was not the overpriced designer roof-trailer, but the giant dancing people on the other side of the river in the background. (You can juuuust barely see them on the loftcube site.) After a fair amount of searching, my lady friend finally tracked it down - it's a sculpture called Molecule Man, by Jonathan Borofsky. He has quite the portfolio of amazing work like this one. Anyway, just thought I'd share. /me throws away a perfectly good front page post...

By: triv

triv — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 02:28:22 -0800

i'm deeply shocked by this link. i mean, does anyone still read playboy?

By: cmacleod

cmacleod — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 02:45:45 -0800

Look in any community in Taiwan, maybe other Chinese communities outside Singapore as well, and you will see the same thing. Albeit without all the design. I see tin shacks on many many roof tops around here.

By: SpaceCadet

SpaceCadet — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 03:11:05 -0800

Wouldn't this encourage wacko city snipers? How many crosshairs pointed at the lit-up condo on the roof?

By: quasistoic

quasistoic — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 04:55:28 -0800

I'd like to see it withstand ONE hurricane season in Florida.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 07:22:14 -0800

I didn't see the electrical or water hook-ups, either. But as for privacy concerns, I think you need to remember two things: first, you can always install curtains or blinds. Second, this is targetted at "passionate individuals." If you're not passionate enough to handle exposing yourself to the world from 45 floors up, maybe you shouldn't be living in a loftcube. As for the "social" aspects of the loftcube that were suggested on their website, I must give a hefty scoff. First of all, you don't want to be playing volleyball, or any -ball activity on the top of a roof. Some asshat spikes the ball and suddenly you've got to replace the guy's windshield who made the mistake of parking in front of the building. Second, and perhaps more important, mixing alcohol and high, exposed places is a recipe for disaster. I'm sure your "passionate" friends won't scrape off the pavement after taking a spill over the edge any easier than us more skeptical folk.

By: kliuless

kliuless — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 09:03:13 -0800

targetted at "passionate individuals" definately a "shag pad" :D what's neat i think is they'd complement very well roof gardens! [more here :] also, btw, the loftcube reminded me of this episode of diarmuid gavin's homefront in the garden!

By: crunchland

crunchland — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 09:55:12 -0800

Diarmuid Gavin is a genius.

By: mrbula

mrbula — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 10:03:48 -0800

Kind of reminded me of this: Little cube on the prairie. (There's a photo halfway down on the right.)

By: Blue Stone

Blue Stone — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 11:00:12 -0800

> Wait. So did I miss the toilet? Dual-use plant pot?

By: Geo

Geo — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 11:19:36 -0800

There's a whole community of people living in shipping containers in Aki Kaurismäki's memorable film, The Man Without a Past (Mies vailla menneisyyttä). I'd pay extra for the one with the sea view.

By: leotrotsky

leotrotsky — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 11:50:17 -0800

saw this in dwell a couple of issues ago. Very nifty concept: I'd much rather a little place with a great view and open air than any of the other city alternatives. But how do you even go about renting roofspace? Anybody?

By: leotrotsky

leotrotsky — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 11:52:19 -0800

uh, that's dwell.

By: leotrotsky

leotrotsky — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 12:04:33 -0800

also, I've got a question on this over at AskMe

By: nix

nix — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 13:44:42 -0800

fabprefab: great site and newsletter that keeps up on all this kind of stuff

By: furiousthought

furiousthought — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 23:03:14 -0800

Cool, now I can be yuppie Ghost Dog.

By: mecran01

mecran01 — Mon, 12 Apr 2004 10:30:39 -0800

I am reminded of an article I read some years back in the New York Times magazine. An author- I have forgotten his name. Stewart Brand, author of How Buildings Learn. Great little-known book. My copy is missing.