Shedworking: 21st century Bach

Every country has its own national shed lingo and in New Zealand they call small structures like beach huts or small holiday homes a 'bach' (pronounced 'batch'). And there are some great designs on the market for prospective bach buyers. Above is the Aqua Bach, a fully trailable house boat with blue perspex on all sides by Dan Rivers and Andy Kemp. It has four sliding doors open to all areas of the deck and is powered by a 60Hp 4Stroke engine with a high thrust propeller. Inside is a kitchen, two double beds, shower and a self-sufficient electrical system which uses solar panel and house storage batteries separate from the motor battery. And they market it very much as a shedworking space saying:

"AquaBach will be the venue that your staff or client will be talking about for years. Picture the perfect day on a nearby lake and hold staff meetings or client functions upon which all invited will love you forever."

The Port-a-Bach comes from Atelier Workshop and is secure and portable with room to sleep two adults and two children. It claims to be power, water and sewer independent, and like other container/push button models, unfolds to create a shedworking space and refolds to create a secure unit for storage or relocation.

The shell is steel and inside is a kitchen, beds, cupboards, bathroom and a fabric screen system to make 'rooms'.

Finally, there's the ipad from New Zealand architect Andre Hodgskin. who specifically says it could be used as an office/studio space.

It's a light kit (manufactured off-site and then transported or shipped as a kit and then erected in situ) which can also be grouped to make larger accommodation (each ipad is 50m sq with decks of 55m sq). There are various external cladding and colour options are available to suit individual taste and context.