Going off-grid and using natural resources like the sun or wind to power your home is one of the modern ways to rebel against the system, and designers are proving that you don’t need to sacrifice comfort or style in order to do so. You don’t have to spend your life in a tent or live in a hobbit house to be completely self-sufficient—in fact, approximately 1.7 billion people are living off-grid worldwide at this very moment. Whether your goal is to reduce your carbon footprint, to save money, to prepare for the collapse of the oil economy, or just to be independent, check out this collection of off-grid retreats – including a sun-powered Alpine capsule and France’s highest building!
Refuge du Goûter: OFF-Grid Space-Age Self-Sufficient Alpine Lodge is the Highest Building in France
Brave mountaineers hoping to reach the top of Mont Blanc will soon be able to rest at an extraordinary refuge 12,582 feet above sea level. Dubbed Refuge du Goûter, this space-age self-sufficient shelter is being built from locally sourced pinewood, and it will be equipped with solar panels and wind turbines. Designed for the French Alpine Club by Thomas Buchi and Hervé Dessimoz from Group-H, the refuge will be the highest building in France when it opens in the near future.
Located on one of the most popular routes used by climbers hoping to scale Mont Blanc, the Refuge du Goûter took five years to plan and three more to build. Dubbed a ‘high-altitude hotel,’ the project has capacity for 120 people at 12,582 feet above sea level, which makes it the highest building in France. With a total cost of €6 million, the eco-friendly mountain refuge is an incredible feat of engineering that sets an example for sustainable architecture at high altitudes.
The refuge is being built from locally sourced pinewood, it has triple-glazed windows and it can resist winds of up to 300 km/h. The building is powered by wind turbines and 750 square feet of solar panels on its roof, and it has an emergency backup generator that is fueled by rapeseed oil. Solar energy will also be used to melt snow into water for cooking and flushing water-saving toilets.
A fantastic work of architecture and high-end engineering, The Refuge du Goûter has certainly scaled the heights in terms of green design.