Photographer and sculptor Mary Mattingly works with extending the concept of personal spaces, such as the “wearable homes” she designed to function in a variety of environmental conditions. Now she’s created the Waterpod, a barge with a living area constructed out of repurposed wood and metal.
She and three other artists will live in this self-sustaining floating home for five months; a garden and a flock of chickens will feed the crew, and they will power their appliances with a wind turbine and an electricity-producing bicycle.
The goal is to explore alternatives to the overcrowded land, and Mattingly predicts that such living arrangements might be common in the future. It puts me in mind a bit of Rife’s Raft in Snow Crash.