Alpod aluminum pod homes are headed for Hong Kong

Imagine you live in a city, and you suddenly change jobs. Your new office is located all the way at the other end of town, and now your commute is a nightmare. Maybe instead of moving apartments — searching Craigslist, packing boxes, and hiring movers — you could just transport your whole living pod to within walking distance of your office. It’s an idea that quite a few people have had, like Professor Dumpster, and James Law of James Law Cybertecture.

The latter designed the Alpod, a 42.6-by-10.8-by-10.8-foot housing unit. There’s about 480 square feet of living space, so it’s definitely a tight fit. It looks a little like a sleek railroad car, with rounded corners and sans wheels. It’s made of aluminum and comes with a built-in kitchen and bathroom. The idea is to use it as a primary residence, office, or vacation home. There are sliding glass walls that are meant to invite nature (and possibly bugs) in.

“Designed as a personal and exclusive high-tech pod house, Alpod surrounds its residents with a futuristic interior based on a contemporary, flexible open-plan living space that features advanced environmental controls, a special lighting design, full height glazing, skylights, plus kitchen and bathroom facilities,” said Law in a press release. The pods could be stacked in a variety of configurations, including ones where it’s possible to pull out individual homes and put in new ones, should tenants decide to move on but bring their Alpod with them.

The houses are expected to be available later this year for a price of around $65,000 in Hong Kong, according to Gizmag.

If making a house entirely out of aluminum seems like a bit of a stretch, it’s not the first time it’s happened. There’s a tiny house in Illinois that a man named Yuri built out of aluminum.