Fold-out bach makes life at beach a breeze

MIKE HEYDON/Dominion Post

BACH IN A BOX: Workshop directors Cecile Bonnifait and William Gieson with the prototype Port-A-Bach made from a 20ft shipping container.

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A bach in a box is the latest offering from French-Kiwi design house Atelier Workshop, providing alternative holiday accommodation with minimal impact on the environment.

Their $80,000 concept, which premiered in Martinborough on Saturday, features a shipping container bach, designed by Atelier directors William Giesen and Cecile Bonnifait.

The business partners met in France and have been working in New Zealand for more than five years. Language has been no barrier. "In terms of conceptual design, French is a great language because they have great words," Mr Giesen said.

The French design language also worked around numerous sustainable design regulations, Ms Bonnifait said. It was only a matter of time before the same applied in New Zealand, but it was up to the design community to lead that change.

"It is our duty to produce sustainable architecture," she said.

Starting with a project for a light-sensitive thermo-regulating louvre roof, the Atelier ethos is expanding to incorporate designs that produce sustainable outcomes.

The port-a-bach, designed to have minimal effect on its environment, is the result.

The six-metre container sits on four concrete blocks and automatically unfolds to expose a 36-square-metre floor plan, half of which is the deck.

Sleeping two adults in a fold- down double bed, the bach has a composting toilet, shower, kitchen, and an option for a further two bunks protruding from the end.

Manufactured in China, the port-a-bach uses bamboo plywood and a glue-free composite from renewable sources.

With the use of solar panels, the unit could be self-sustainable.

Mr Giesen said the idea stemmed from the need to reclaim the concept of the original, affordable bach.

"The idea of the bach has been hijacked. You don't have to spend millions to have a nice piece of architecture," he said.