Would you live in a house clinging to a cliff?

[M II A II R II K]

Would you live in a house clinging to a cliff?


9 September 2014

Read More: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-29127057

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So far it only exists as a concept, but the design for the Cliff House by Modscape, an Australian firm that designs and builds prefabricated homes, is enough to give a lurch to the stomach of anyone uneasy with heights.

- Here's the pitch - it features three bedrooms (two doubles, the other en-suite), a stylish living space, a carport, separate bathroom and (tantalisingly or nausea-inducingly, depending on your tolerance of sheer drops) an open-air spa and barbecue area on the bottom floor. Artfully minimalist interior décor focuses visitors' attention on "transcendent views of the ocean".

- Inspired by the way barnacles cling to a ship's hull, the design envisages that the house would be made up of five modules connected by a lift and secured to the cliff face using engineered steel pins. It might look precarious - and a hostage to coastal erosion - but there's no reason why the design shouldn't be structurally sound, says Maxwell Hutchinson, a former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Cantilever beams drilled into the rock could support the building just as crampons support a climber.

- While people assume homes must be built upwards from foundations in the ground, it's equally possibly in theory for them to be suspended or hung, says Hutchinson. There's a tradition of unconventional properties around the world including floating homes, underwater homes and even ice hotels. But, he warns, "all of these things are expensive because the construction industry hates anything unusual". Any prospective owner of the Cliff House would need very deep pockets.

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[photoLith]

No, cliffs erode quite quickly. But if it was safe, hell yeah.

[gtbassett]

Cliffs are there for a reason, because the ocean is slowly eroding the land. No way in hell I make such a stupid investment like that.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by gtbassett

Cliffs are there for a reason, because the ocean is slowly eroding the land. No way in hell I make such a stupid investment like that.

Ocean front property is severly limited, seems like a good idea if living in the right location.

Honestly seems like a necessary form of construction if your living in particularly uneven terrain.

[Perklol]

where does sewer water go? Does it drop into the ocean?

[chris08876]

Might be fun for a day, but overtime, eh, just sound dangerous. Plus, that would be a horrible way to die. Naked, and falling down towards the shallow waters.

A house built into a hill or a mountain? Sure, but cliffs, I don't trust erosion, especially near an ocean.

[BrownTown]

This seems like such a terrible waste of a beautiful natural cliff face. It's not even done with any mind paid to trying to match the surroundings.

[jeffreyvazquez]

very beautiful natural cliff face

Interior Design UK Organisation

[montréaliste]

Giant mailbox hanging off a cliff. Just when the postal service is about to croak. I call it passé, but what do I know.

[chris08876]

Ticking time bomb essentially due to erosion. Long term, it wouldn't be viable.

[Kenneth]

hell no...that is a disaster waiting to happen, why chance something like that