Nature Gets Some Rest, Thanks to These Floating Homes

With floating home communities on the rise, a Panama-based company is building pod-style housing – both on the water and on land – that respects the environment and creates minimal disturbances to habitats.

Floating homes, typically carefully mounted on a body of water, disrupt nature far less than traditional houses since no land needs to be cleared, and habitats are minimally disturbed.

The company, Ocean Builders, is building two models – SeaPod and SeaPod Eco – on the ocean. They seem to be floating but they are stabilized by a buoyant base and/or long legs. The 48-kilo air-filled steel tubes create enough buoyancy to keep the pod 3 meters above the surface. The pods are weatherproof, meaning that they resist winds, hurricanes, and rainstorms. Each pod is 73 square meters and comes with a 360-degree view, three half floors, and modern appliances. The company is also expected to launch GreenPod and GreenPod Eco, which would float above land instead of water, in the form of treehouses.