Housing alternative, MAKU trailers made of aluminium running on Japanese roads

The MAKU trailer is the latest innovation in the field of movable housing systems. Japanese architect Taichi Kuma inaugurates aluminium-frame MAKU trailers which are lightweight and can easily house a remote work office or radio station. The skeleton of a MAKU is aluminium while the walls are constructed with layers of PTFE membrane, making the trailer house weigh only 530 kg. The trailer is so light that it can be carried away very easily by any normal car without a special license. 

The walls are mounted with lightweight aluminium frames and two layers of PTFE membrane. Amidst the structure hides a layer of transparent glass fibre inserted in between the two membrane layers. With this, the unit becomes insulated and can also protect itself from the diverse weather conditions on any terrain. Since the walls are translucent, they capture a faint amount of sunlight in them, to make the trailer glow like a lantern when dusk sets in.

The floor plan is not that complicated as a 3.3 m by 1.8 m rectangular plank holds the ground. The minimalistic design makes it possible for users to utilise the space for any given job, be it, a work office, a small camp cottage or a portable radio station. The trailer is lightweight enough to be movable around Japan. It could also be used as a live radio station since it would be easier to capture the sound of nature or anything else and stream it from anywhere.

This multipurpose trailer is maybe an awakening call to the future since wars are being fought permanently on habitable ground; it is not far away that we practice livelihood, occupying the least amount of space in this world.