HOME OF BORDERLESS ORIGINS
the HOME competition
2020_competiton entry
Railway freight companies across the world have fallen prey to industrial and economic shifts leaving a swath of abandoned tracks. Meanwhile, energy shifts away from coal have created a surplus of specially designed gondola coal cars that require specific infrastructure to unload, rendering them otherwise unusable. The Homes of Borderless Origins [HoBO] gives new life to both the abandoned coal cars and rail lines.
Designed as semi-permanent fixtures, HoBOs are lowered into gondola coal cars, instantly transforming them into habitable spaces. Minimal in appearance, only the faceted roof structure rises above the sidewalls, mimicking the coal that once filled each car. Rooftop solar and wheel driven generators provide power while undercarriage fresh and black water tanks provide sanitation. Linking together a mix of dwelling units, commercial units, community units, freshwater tankers and storage cars all interconnected by an exterior walkway creates mile long linear communities devoid of permanent infrastructure and free to travel without schedule through bustling cities, pristine landscapes and across breathtaking vistas.
