Man builds small egg-shaped house to save on rent

The external layer of the egg-shaped house is made up of gunny bags.(photo: Beijing News)


On the shell of the "egg," there is an oval door without a lock. Under the house.(photo: Beijing News)


The furnishings in the egg-shaped shelter are simple. There is a 1-meter-wide bed with several books on the head of the bed and a hidden water tank at the end of the bed.(photo: Beijing News)

Dai Haifei, 24, graduated only half a year ago. Using the design skills he learned at his company, Dai built a small "egg-shaped" cottage as his home.

Dai's company is located in a big courtyard on Chengfu Road in Haidian District, Beijing. Below the building of his company, a small house that looks like a giant egg stands on the lawn.

The 2-meter-high house, the external layer of which is made up of gunny bags, looks really rough. On the shell of the "egg," there is an oval door without a lock. Under the house, wheels were installed, allowing it to move.

On the inside, the small house is made of bamboo strips, which are affixed with nails. Dai said that there is also a bamboo mat layer, a thermal insulation layer and a rain-proof layer outside the bamboo strips, and the outside surface is another thermal insulating layer made of gunny bags filled with zymotic sawdust and weed seeds. In the spring, weeds will grow from the bags, he said

The furnishings in the egg-shaped shelter are simple. There is a 1-meter-wide bed with several books on the head of the bed and a hidden water tank at the end of the bed. The water tank is equipped with a pressure system which he can use to push the water up to wash.

Dai's hometown is located in the countryside of Shaoyang, Hunan Province. His father is a construction worker and his mother works as an office cleaner. He said that although his parents are old, they work hard to save money for his marriage.

"They do not know that under their current wage levels, they need to work 200 to 300 years to buy me a house in Beijing," said Dai, "It is also difficult for me to afford the rent for a house in Beijing."

"Although I still save no money every month now, my living quality has remarkably improved," Dai said.

He has lived in his shelter for almost two months and can occasionally enjoy the "petty bourgeoisie lifestyle" in coffee houses without the burden of rent.

Beijing News contributed to this story.

By People's Daily Online