A fresh new type of park-on-the-water in Rotterdam is turned plastic trash that once polluted the area into a series of hexagonal pods now open to the public. The design is built to scale, too — more units can be added as more waste is recovered.

The floating landscape is meant to raise awareness, but also provides a practical resting spot for people, as well as a refuge and breeding ground for snails, flatworms, beatles and fish — each pod has its on purpose, be it benches for humans or soil for plants and animals.

The artificial island chain was built by the Recycled Island Foundation, an organization that takes trash from the mouths of rivers using litter traps and reuses what they can. These traps are designed to catch and keep what passes by, even as the currents of the rivers change.

“When we retrieve the plastics directly in our cities and ports we actively prevent the further growth of the plastic soup in our seas and oceans. The realization of the building blocks in recycled plastics is an important step towards a litter free river.”

Providing secure enclosures and other critical safety features in the face of tsunamis, floods and accidents at sea, this system of survival pods adds another critical dimension as well: connectivity. The award-winning Duckweed Survival House units come with variable-length tethers and are individually designed to stay upright and keep their occupants sheltered in the harshest conditions.

Much like the series of independent-but-connectable space habitats proposed in Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves, each individual unit is self-supporting but also benefits by networking with the rest. The rounded-square shape helps allow the different units to be organized in grids, lines or otherwise without sharp corners that could damage adjacent units.

Together, they provide increased stability, visibility, wave and wind resistance, but the units can be separated as well to avoid obstacles or for situations-specific emergency needs, like jettisoning a defective pod. As in the aforementioned work of science fiction, the idea is to maximize the odds for all survivors by creating options for configuration and collaboration.

A stem projecting beneath each unit stabilizes the crafts while a built-in, reverse osmosis filter turns salty water potable. Pressurized carbon dioxide gas provides quick inflatability while an operable overhead vent allows in fresh air. Bright markers aid in night rescue while also helping people in disparate pods spot one another more easily on the ocean waves.

Dangle thousands of feet above the bottom of a canyon, take in the Pacific Ocean from a human nest, view the Northern Lights from a transparent igloo or spend the night in a giant purple sperm. These incredibly creative (and sometimes terrifying) campers, tents and other open-air accommodations are far from your typical hotel experience.

Urban Campsite: 6 Whimsical Capsules

The ‘Urban Campsite’ in Amsterdam is an ‘art-sleep experience’ inviting guests to stay in 14 sculptural mobile camping pods on the beach, ranging from a sailboat-like modern white loft with spherical portholes to a lounge and sleep space built under a trampoline. The pods are all clustered together on the sand plains of Ijburg beside a communal kitchen and ‘tribal toilet tower.’ Some of the creations are more solid and permanent than others, like the wooden icosahedron structure by Boomhuttenfest or the bizarre bottle-shaped ‘Val Ross’ by MUD projects. A shrink-wrap house with a pallet stoop explores the value of waste materials, while the ‘Bedbug’ sits on adjustable legs to adapt to various urban camping environments. The pods can be booked on Air BNB.

Hanging Tree Beds in Bavaria

The Waldseilgarten resort in the mountains of Pfronten, Germany requires you to be just a wee bit adventurous with a series of tent platforms perched on cliffs or dangling from trees. All guests receive rope climbing training before spending the night, especially since you’ll have to do some climbing in the dark if you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The tree platforms offer relatively easy access to the ground, but the cliff platforms can be up to 6,562 feet above the valley floor.

Transparent Igloo for Viewing the Northern Lights

Maintain an uninterrupted view of the Northern Lights from the transparent ceiling of your igloo in Finland. The Kakslauttanen Hotel & Igloo Village boasts 40 igloos for two, each temperature-controlled and equipped with its own sauna. The complex is located near the Urho Kekkonen National Park, which has some of the Arctic Circle’s most impressive views of the Aurora Borealis.

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Creative Camping 16 Out There Open Air Accommodations

Why stay tethered to the grid in a fixed location when you could live in a compact mobile pod that can be transported to the location of your choice? These modern capsules are what 21st-century off-grid dreams are made of, ranging from spacious self-sustaining retreats to accordion-like expanding shelters that are lightweight enough to tow behind a bicycle.

Tricycle House

Made mostly out of folded polypropylene, ‘Tricycle House’ by People’s Industrial Design Office is lightweight enough to be towed around like a bike trailer. The house can be expanded like an accordion to increase the space inside or make it more compact for travel. Translucent walls let in daylight and all amenities within – including a sink, stove, bath tub, water tank and transforming furniture – is manually powered. The firm also makes ‘tricycle gardens’ to tow alongside the house.

Egg-Like Ecocapsule

Shaped like a massive egg, the Ecocapsule by Nice Architects is a tiny off-grid living pod that’s equipped with all the comforts of home, including a bed, hot showers, flushing toilets and the capability to cook. Powered by solar panels and a built-in turbine, with a back-up battery for cloudy and still days, it can be shipped, air-lifted or towed and fits into a standard shipping container.

Diogene Hut by Renzo Piano

Designed by architect Renzo Piano for the Vitra campus in Weil-am-Rhein, Germany, the Diogene cabin offers 80 square feet for an individual occupant as a “voluntary place of retreat.” Photovoltaic panels and a rainwater retention tank make it self-sufficient, and it’s highly portable. There’s just enough room inside for a bed, table and chair.

Portable Retreat with a Roof Hatch

Three hinged panels open this two-level off-grid retreat to the sky on both the top and bottom floors, enhancing the occupant’s connection to whatever environment they’ve chosen. This mobile wooden shelter by Allergutendinge features a bunch of fold-down elements, hidden storage and a bed that doubles as a staircase to the loft.

Camouflage Stacked Wood Cabin

This ‘invisible hut’ looks like no more than a stack of logs when it’s all closed up, but a hatch on one side drops down to become the terrace for a rustic cabin. The Yeta Log Cabin by Lab Zero can be set up virtually anywhere, and as small and minimal as it is, it comes complete with a kitchen, shower, toilet and solar panels.

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Mobile Modern Modular 15 Capsules For Off Grid Living

Designed as an extension to a home, this mobile live/work pod eschews conventional mobile home aesthetics in favor of something decidedly more eccentric. ‘Blob VB3’ is an oblong white living space that looks like a gigantic egg when it’s all closed up, but the sides open to reveal a gridded interior for storing small items, working and even sleeping.

Architecture firm dmvA came up with the prototype in response to strict building codes in the client’s city. It contains lots of open niches for storage, multipurpose platforms, lighting, a kitchen and a bathroom. When the airplane-like ‘nose’ is open, it functions as a roof for a small indoor/outdoor space.

Primarily made of polyester, the Blob VB3 is easy to transport, aerodynamic and versatile. It could be used as a guest room, office, pool house or garden house. A circular skylight lets light into the bright white interior.

While the open shelves don’t exactly make it ideal for pulling behind a truck like an Airstream, it’s an interesting way to add a little extra space to an existing building without having to deal with local building regulations.