lightHotel

One-room mobile hotel with the city as its lobby.

Design

Bespoke

Location

Various

Year

2017

Size

160 sf

A study in restriction, Alchemy’s mobile hotel was inspired by Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities and moved “as the flow of the city required”. It stood as a beacon for ecotourism and sustainable living, occupying places both celebrated and ignored. The city itself was its lobby. Built for year-round use, the insulated shipping container was a sort of test-case laboratory for staying warm in winter and cool in summer with triple-glazed windows, solar-powered HVAC, and in-floor heat, with a 250-gallon water tank under the bed providing thermal mass.

Design

Bespoke

Location

Various

Year

2017

Size

160 sf

The lightHotel is available for rent in the Cuyuna Mountain Bike trails region. In 2026: search The Forest Container at hipcamp.com.

Design Sponsors: Alchemy Architects, AEI, University of Minnesota College of Design, The Musicant Group, Wedge

Product Sponsors: Anderson, Dorn Bracht, Daltile, JTH, Legrand, WD, Montaggio, Montaggio, Room & Board, Restwell, Uponor, Minneapolis Glass Company, Archetype

Site Partners: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Northern Spark, The City of Saint Paul

Photos by Alchemy.