The off-grid micro-cabin, instantly ready on land or water

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A Russian architect creates an off-grid micro-cabin that can be moved by helicopter, installed anywhere on land or water, and is ready to use instantly.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Home sweet home in a quiet Moscow suburb.

This floating micro-cabin has living and sleeping areas and a fully fitted kitchen and bathroom - all squeezed into just 16 sq m- designed for instant accommodation in remote areas.

Architect and founder of Dubldom, Ivan Ovchinnikov, says: "First of all I envision such houses in remote areas: mountainous areas, on hiking or rafting tracks, which are impossible to access by car. But as active tourism develops, people want comfort and are ready to pay for it. It's especially pleasant to stay in a comfortable place after a hard day of walking or being on water. These houses were made for such things."

A solar array provides all the power needed with a wood burning stove for added heat.

Pre-fabricated off site with lightweight, environmentally friendly materials the cabin can be airlifted to any location on land or water by helicopter.

Ovchinnikov says: "One needs to fly over, take a house, attach it quickly and move it - and in the highlands even very powerful helicopters have lower capacity because of the rarefied air and can only pick up one or two tonnes. Our aim was to have the whole house with all appliances to weigh less."

Although yet to take off commercially its designers say it could be the perfect solution for instant accommodation in Russia's more remote regions.

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