The lightHotel, a one-room mobile hotel built using a shipping container, is a one-time art project by Alchemy. It stood as a beacon for ecotourism and sustainable living in the Twin Cities, and moved as the flow of the city required, occupying places both celebrated and ignored. The city itself was its lobby.
Its interior is efficient and luxe, making the most of limited space within the salvaged 8′ x 20′ shipping container. Just like most hotel rooms, there’s no kitchen, so overnight guests ordered “room service” from nearby hot spots. Built for the year-round Minnesota climate, it features a spray foam shell, triple-glazed windows and doors, solar powered HVAC, LED lighting and hydronic in-floor heat. The water system is self-contained, with a 250-gallon water tank that supplies an on-demand water heater and a bio-filter producing re-usable grey water. A high-end, roomy shower keeps a body happy. Mechanical detritus and applied typographic overlays entertain and provide functional insight.
The lightHotel is part of Alchemy’s ongoing effort to celebrate and create new paradigms for efficient living.
NOTE: In 2018, the lightHotel was sold to an entrepreneur in north central Minnesota who is forming a ‘circle’ of sustainable structures that will be rented out. When it’s available, we’ll post a link.