Where did it come from?
Casa Ojalà is the product of the Ticinese architect Beatrice Bonzanigo. The inspiration came during her excursion across the Andes when she wished she could stay a few days in the beautiful scenery without damaging the landscape and the environment with a rooted structure. The first example of this tiny house was presented at the Milan Design week in 2019.
What is it about?
The name Ojalà is Spanish and means “if only”. It’s the dream of traveling light and in an eco-friendly manner. It is sold based on the concept of “the traveler seeking a new experience, one that immerses them in the surrounding nature, free from technology, yet without lacking the luxury.”
The conceptual idea behind how it’s set up is inspired by a sail boat. The multiple functionalities come to life based on pulley and railing systems.
The main aspect of this multifunctional house is it only 27sqm. It is quickly assembled and virtually doesn’t scar in the landscape as the foundation doesn’t require digging. It’s self-standing structure can then be moved to any location. To carried out this process it would need to be done by professionals to disassemble and reassemble.
Casa Ojalà can blend into any land configurations such as vineyards, mountains, woods or on the seaside. The structure’s skeleton remains the same while the inside can be adapted to the client’s way of living and tastes.
This house can come in 1000 different versions. The original model for it is composed of two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom and a roof top terrace. There are seven features which are hidden below the floor which can be taken out by pulling on a liver. They include chairs, nightstands, a sink, a cloths cabinet and a shelf.
The buyer can choose the tiny houses purpose and looks like he would do when choosing a car before purchase. The future user can pick what types of wood, textiles, and select the colors of metal and fabric. Casa Ojalà can reflect the local environment and be built on site with local materials. It can either be on-grid or off-grid meaning either it is related to an already existent external provision system of electricity and water supply or, it can be completely self-sufficient.
This house is suited for any potential user has it can change depending on their needs. They can move around the interior shape of the structure by moving the ground, the internal or external walls and even the ceiling/roof.
The technical aspects
As emtioned previously, Casa Ojalà is small yet costimable in all ways and houses many functions through pulley system. To better understand the concept and the structure I went over and investigated the diagrams.
This last picture shows the houses skeleton being built.
Casa Ojalà promotes a unique living experience allowing the users to be free from any civilization around. The key aspects of this house are: harmony, effectiveness and easy to use. The fact that it can be customized depending on the times of day and the mood or the function, promotes the wellbeing of the user and makes it relaxing and enjoyable to use.
The whole idea also shows how sustainable a small space can be. From the size, the materials, their provenance, the fact that It can be built on site and moved, the diversity of location possibilities and the self-sufficient aspect.
I believe small sustainable living spaces are key for the future. With the current health struggles and the population rising, inventing comfortable compact spaces is becoming important. This design is a world-wide solution as it could be adapted to any location and climate. All there is left to do is make sure the structure has a good thermal mass. I believe this design could evolve and launch new ideas to create comfortable living pods for the urban environments to counter act the population growth and find a healthy way to accommodate people.
The future of the Casa Ojalà
Casa Ojalà was originally destined to be sold to hotel companies and travel agencies around the world, but they are now expanding the possibilities for individuals to buy. The architecture office made its first delivery in 2020 but at the moment, if you wish to purchase your own Casa Ojalà you will be put on the waiting list. Deliveries to particulars will start in Italy and by 2021 they will dispatch internationally if the Pandemic allows it.
The designers are currently looking into creating different models which would be either smaller or larger and searching for solutions to adapt the tiny house for colder climates.