Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s instaling

This has allowed him to secure a mortgage-free home. About seven years ago he converted a 12m by 2m metal shipping container that he'd bought for £2,000 ($2,500) at a London industrial estate, and created his new home, which now floats on the River Ouse in North Yorkshire.

Max McMurdo's home is testament to the broad variety of houseboats that has emerged in the past decade. 'Based on climate predictions, boat-dwelling might prove a prudent, even necessary alternative to land-based living, essential to human survival,' adds Mitchell.īBC Culture looks at eight examples of floating homes across the globe.

Now with climate change precipitating rising sea levels, expediency is also driving a need for living on water. 'They're bringing everything from a rescued shipping container to a houseboat built from recycled materials on to the world's waterways,' Mitchell tells BBC Culture. In terms of design, houseboats vary stylistically and structurally, and many boat-dwellers take sustainable living and design seriously. After all, houseboats are often buffeted by the elements, while truly remote ones can be completely off-grid, which can take getting used to.īut houseboats are also often moored along with others in city wharfs, their occupants benefitting from a strong community spirit. Boat-dwelling isn't always plain sailing, however. In the foreground is a less distinct glimpse of a houseboat interior. Viewed through a porthole, two swans glide by on a glassy lake. The cover of a new book, Making Waves: Floating Homes and Life on the Water by Portland Mitchell, captures the freedom many associate with water-borne homes.

Seven cleverly designed emergency homes Six extraordinary gardens around the world Boat-dwellers feel a sense of adventure and, if based in a remote, rural spot, are totally at one with nature. There is something rebellious and individualistic about swapping a life lived within bricks and mortar for a simpler, less conventional existence on a houseboat.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s instaling