Bobbing gently in the breeze, the Freefloating Ecolodge appears at more like a spacecraft than a spot for slumber parties. However, this contemporary floating arrangement can hold up to ten people through the day also has four cozy beds for overnighters.
Dutch designer Marijn Beije developed this floating chalet in cooperation with the De Biesbosch National Park in the Netherlands. “These days character has to compete with Xbox games and roller coaster rides, plus it often loses,” says Beije. Called Freefloating for brief, the structure allows people to experience nature on multiple levels — water, land and sky — in minimalist, contemporary luxury. “I wanted people to be able to focus on the beauty around them without interfering,” says Beije.
Builder: APEcolodges
Marijn Beije Layout
Beije gave the arrangement a catamaran-based shape with two parallel, floating hulls. It can connect to a bowl or float freely in the water. Each floating hull has. 1 tank holds filthy water; another holds drinking water.
Marijn Beije Layout
FSC-certified Western red cedar and tempered safety glass fill the construction’s aluminum frame.
Marijn Beije Layout
A solar panel provides the lodge’s power. Although sustainability had an effect on Freefloating’s design, Beije looked at the bigger picture instead of implementing every ecofriendly characteristic possible. “I think that a design should be sustainable in a way that’s so beautiful, nicely made and that individuals have such an emotional bond with, that they don’t want to part with it,” he says.
Marijn Beije Layout
1 cottage has a locking bathroom cabinet and a very small kitchenette. There’s also a stationary seat with a partially underwater view.
Marijn Beije Layout
The other cottage holds four beds that fold in the cedar walls, with a floor-to-ceiling view of the sky and water. “Nature is presented here as if it were on a theater screen,” says Beije. The cabin’s rocking movement lulls overnighters to sleep.
Marijn Beije Layout
The simple cabin contours make the beautiful outdoor environment, instead of the lodge itself, that the highlight of staying in Freefloating. “I wanted it to melt into the landscape,” says Beije.
Marijn Beije Layout
A patio connects the two cottages and contributes up to a crow’s nest via another ladder. The perch sits nearly 15 feet over the water, offering a bird’s-eye view of the lodge’s environment.
Despite its simple appearance, Freefloating offers an incontrovertible sense of luxury. “Folks want a standard of luxury and convenience. I gave them just that,” says Beije. “Freefloating is, more than anything else, barefoot luxury.”
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