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Prototypes

The Romanichel proposes a way of living closer to that of our nomad ancestors.

The Romanichel could be used to escape rough weather or to travel with the comforts of home

The Concept

The Romanichel is a mobile home on rails. Owners would be able to travel to villages designed exclusively for these "rail homes" and live there for months at a time. Imagine living in the comfort of your house and being able to move around the country, like a nomad, at each solstice and equinox.

The Context

The Romanichel is inspired by the Roma way of life. Roma would group up in wagons and settle down in a specific location for a time before moving on to a new one. The concept resembles a recreational vehicle – with several creating an RV park – on rails instead of wheels.

Each Romanichel could propel itself with its own power, similar to light-rail transit systems.

How It Works

The frame of the wagon would be built out of reinforced steel or aluminum, depending on the budget and requirements of the owner. The windows could be built using transparent Plexiglas, which is stronger than regular glass, better suited for transport and less at risk of breaking. The Plexiglas could also be made to turn dark for privacy or sun protection.

Inside the wagons, owners could install any type of flooring and multiple colours, types and textures of wall panels. The interior would be built as a loft so that one room could fill the daily needs of a couple or family. During transit, a stabilizing system would be used to minimize extreme vibrations.

Romanichel wagons could be linked together to form a train to ride as a small group or community. Each Romanichel could propel itself with its own power (similar to light-rail transit systems), or the concept could be made to include a locomotive that would simply be rented for the two-day trip.

Romanichel wagons are built to stay at the same location for up to three months at a time.

Different wagons could be engineered to create several community-accessible rooms (game room, solarium, etc.), and slide-outs would be available to increase living space. A wagon could be used as community garage to house cars, power-sport vehicles and other community items that could be shared by residents of the Romanichel village.

To power each Romanichel house, solar cells could be installed on the roof of each wagon. Solar trees or vibrating poles like the vortex could also be deployed next to the village. On-site infrastructure would be required at each village (water, sewer, electrical), but the community could also find ways to reduce its consumption and waste to a minimum.

Inside the wagons, owners could install any type of flooring.

What It's Used For

The Romanichel proposes a way of living closer to that of our nomad ancestors. It could be used to escape rough weather; you'd simply move to a warmer region during winter. And you could travel the continent, meet new people and bring your expertise to other towns.

The wagons are built to stay at the same location for up to three months at a time, and these locations would need to be built from and be accessible by existing rails (owned by railway companies). Access to the rails would need to be negotiated. Retrofitting existing wagons would be cheap, and current RV manufacturers already have the expertise to design a Romanichel prototype.

The Designer

The Romanichel concept was developed in collaboration with Clark McCune, an industrial designer from Dallas. McCune graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Tulsa. He also designed the Cefalo stretching car concept for Imaginactive.