One of UK's most booked Airbnbs took only 10 days to build on site: 'Remote, cozy, compact'
Tiny rental house in Scottish Highlands is booked over a year in advance
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The innovative construction of one of the United Kingdom's most booked Airbnbs apparently took just 10 days to complete.
Architect Roderick James, 75, and his interior designer wife, Amanda Markham, designed and built the AirShip 002 in 2018, the British news agency SWNS reported.
The "remote, cozy, compact, aluminum-capsule structure" looks like a futuristic air ship. It features floor-to-ceiling breathtaking Scottish Highland views, according to the same source.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The £165 per night accommodation — about $205 U.S. dollars — in Drimnin, Scotland, was the most wish-listed Airbnb rental in the U.K. in 2020, SWNS reported.
It is booked over a year in advance.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The couple behind one of the U.K.'s most booked Airbnbs say the innovative construction of this tiny house only took 10 days to construct. (SWNS)
The couple built the project — part of their company Out of the Blue Ltd. — at a cost of £100K (or about $124,000 in U.S. dollars).
Yet reportedly it's already made its money back ever since its creation five years ago.
‘Just for fun at first’
The couple behind the Airbnb live nearby in another house that they designed themselves called Eagle Rock.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Roderick told SWNS, "We designed the AirShip 002 just for fun at first. But then a perfect plot [of land] came up and we decided to build on it. At first, we weren't intending to [rent] it [out]. We just thought it would be an ideal location — but then it became incredibly popular."
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He added, "It was a brand-new design [that] had never been done before. We wanted to build something that could be built anywhere and any part of the structure can be carried by two people."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He also said, "It has over 3,000 components, which were computer-laser-cut in the factory, which took three to four months. But then the actual structure went up in 10 days on site. In future, all housing will become increasingly modular."
The AirShip 002, as it's known, was the most wish-listed Airbnb rental in the U.K. by people living in the U.K. in 2020. Bookings for it are made over a year in advance. (SWNS)
Roderick also told SWNS, "The structure has everything you could need. It can even be off-grid with a compost toilet and rainwater can be collected from the roof and stored under the floor panels."
He said that the dragonfly window "breaks up the view in such an extraordinary way. Everyone who stays here wishes they could stay for longer. It really is a special place."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The couple now have begun two other tiny house projects that people can rent on Airbnb.
Following the success of the AirShip, the couple now have begun two other tiny house projects that people can rent on Airbnb.
The Pilot House PH5, an aluminum structure with 360-degree views, was completed after just six months of building in September 2020, said SWNS.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This was followed by the creation of The Captain's Cabin in January 2021.
This stay even comes with the gift of a novel, "The Captain's Cabin" by Alexander McCall Smith.
The "remote, cozy, compact, aluminum-clad capsule structure" looks like a futuristic air ship — and features breathtaking Highland views. (SWNS)
All profits from the book, published by Roderick and Amanda's company Out of The Blue, go directly to the "transformational" charity Jamie’s Farm, which hosts disadvantaged children for residential farm stays.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}‘Unique, intriguing features’
The PilotHouse and the Captain's Cabin each display unique, intriguing features.
The PilotHouse PH5 is a one-bed, two-story aluminum structure with a spiral staircase.
"One of the key things we work on, even in our own house, is that they're all based on elliptical, oval shapes."
It has an unusual corrugated aluminum wall finish, and its sheet aluminum exterior walls have a resonance of a submarine, "Conning Tower."
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The latest and smallest project, the Captain's Cabin, sits on the large balcony deck on the roof of an old chapel building; it's on the same site as the other projects and is also proving very popular, SWNS reported.
The interior is more textural and cozy — with reused timber and a nautical theme, according to SWNS. (SWNS)
While the exterior is similarly clad in corrugated aluminum, the interior is more textural and cozy — with reused timber and a nautical theme featuring artifacts from the book.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}All of the couple's quirky builds feature stunning views and fresh spring water, but their unique shape is the reason for their success, said Roderick.
"If you have a very small space but a big view, it works very well."
"One of the key things we work on, even in our own house, is that they're all based on elliptical, oval shapes," he said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We have discovered that people feel very comfortable in these plan shapes," he also told SWNS.
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"There are no sharp corners and as a result people feel very secure. The views add an enormous amount, too."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added, "If you have a very small space but a big view, it works very well."