The AirShip Airbnb by Roderick James and Amanda Markham – SWNS
The couple behind one of the UK’s most-booked Airbnb properties says the innovative construction only took ten days to construct.
Architect Roderick James and his interior designer wife Amanda Markham, designed and built the AirShip 002 in 2018.
The “remote, cozy, compact, aluminum-clad capsule structure” looks like a futuristic air ship and features breath-taking Highland views from floor to ceiling.
The $205 per night accommodation in Drimnin, Scotland (£165), was the most wish-listed Airbnb rental in the UK in 2020 and secures bookings over a year in advance.
The project built as part of their company Out of the Blue Ltd costed £100,000 to build ($124,000), but it has already made its money back since its creation five years ago.
“We designed the AirShip 002 just for fun at first, but then a perfect plot came up and we decided to build it,” said the 75-year-old architect.
AirShip Airbnb by Roderick James and Amanda Markham -SWNS
“At first we weren’t intending to rent it. We just thought it would be an ideal location, but then it became incredibly popular.
“It was a brand new design and it had never been done before. We wanted to build something that could be built anywhere—and any part of the structure can be carried by two people.
“It has over 3000 components which were computer laser cut in the factory which took three to four months.
“But then the actual structure went up in ten days on site. In the future, all housing will become increasingly modular.”
“The structure has everything you could need. It can even be off-grid with a compost toilet and rainwater can be collected from the roof and stored under the floor panels.
The AirShip 002’s kitchen by Roderick James and Amanda Markham -SWNS
“The dragonfly window breaks up the view in such an extraordinary way. Everyone who stays here wishes they could stay for longer. It really is a special place.”
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Following the success of the AirShip, the couple have embarked on two other tiny house projects to rent on Airbnb.
The AirShip 002 bedroom by Roderick James and Amanda Markham -SWNS
The Pilot House PH5, an aluminum structure with 360 degree views, was completed after just six months of building in September 2020. The couple lives nearby in another house they designed themselves, called Eagle Rock.
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Their latest and smallest project, The Captain’s Cabin, was completed in January 2021. This stay even comes with the gift of a novel titled The Captain’s Cabin by Alexander McCall Smith. The Captain’s Cabin, sits on the large balcony deck on the roof of an old chapel building on the same site as the other projects and is also proving very popular.
All profits from the book, published by Roderick and Amanda’s company Out of The Blue, go directly to the “transformational” charity Jamie’s Farm which hosts disadvantaged children for residential farm stays.
All of their quirky builds feature stunning views and fresh spring water, but their unique shape is what Roderick attributes some of their success to.
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He said: “One of the key things we work on, even in our own house, is that they’re all based on elliptical, oval, shapes.
The AirShip 002’s view -SWNS
“We have discovered that people feel very comfortable in these plan shapes. Sandi Toksvig described it as ‘like a womb with a view!’ There are no sharp corners and as a result people feel very secure.
“The views add an enormous amount too. If you have a very small space, but a big view, it works very well.”
Want to book a stay at the AirShip. Visit their Airbnb page here. Or, rent Winnie the Pooh’s Tree House in the original Hundred Acre Wood at this ‘Bearbnb’.
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