Originally published at: Hunk of airplane fuselage converted into home office | Boing Boing
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Here a 747’s wings have also been repurposed as roofing for the 747 Wing House in Ventura County, CA. A section of cabin wall also made it into the design.
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There’s a few of those about…here’s another one.
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Can I build my airplane fuselage home office inside my Aircraft Hanger Quonset Hut home?
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Old aerospace lore says that years ago, Boeing proposed sending sealed fuselages to space for a pre-fab space station, using parts already being manufactured and already designed for pressurization. The cost would have been miniscule compared to the building of the International Space Station nodes. The only problem was the space shuttle, still in its design phase, was something like 3 inches too narrow, and NASA didn’t want revamp the design.
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I love looking at tiny/container home design, and also know that I will never be able to live in one because I live in a place that is sometimes cold and sometimes hot 
That’s gorgeous! If that’s your home, you’re lucky.
Frank Gehry designed an ice rink in Anaheim that was originally the practice rink for the Ducks. It consists of two quonset huts, each with its own rink. just before the ice rink opened, my husband was given a tour along with some dignitaries (he was writing an article about the place). He was asked what he thought of the rinks, and my husband thinking that it looked unfinished replied, “Oh, how much longer before it’s finished?”
There was some throat-clearing. Then someone introduced Frank Gehry. He was standing next to my husband.
Now whenever I see or hear the word “quonset” I immediately think about how my husband dissed Frank Gehry. 
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Definitely not my home, but I have recently been doing a bit of a dive on Quonset huts and their cousins/predecessors and imagined that if people are turning all these other things into houses, surely someone has turned the humble Quonset hut into one. Google proved me right.
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Shouldn’t a small space be easier to heat or cool than a large one?
Shouldn’t a small space be easier to heat or cool than a large one?
Maybe, in a very short-term sense. But most of these designs have a thin shell exterior rather than the 8+ inches of insulation that make climate control sensible in Minnesota. The problem with heating/cooling a tent is that you’re basically trying to heat or cool the whole world rather than just your living space. I expect that the energy cost per square foot is through the roof (so to speak). If your home is designed to resemble a solar cooker (like those featured in this article) that’s not going to help.
Most tiny home designs have them sitting directly on the ground or slightly above the ground (on wheels). That’s another layer of insulation you’re missing out on, plus no basement probably means no plumbing in the winter (the pipes will burst unless they have an insulated pathway below the frost line.)
And then there’s snow! A good snowy-climate home has a vented attic allowing for gradual temperature decrease between living space and the exterior roof (which should be literally as cold as ice). Many tiny-home designs have a sleeping loft where (it appears) a sleeping resident can reach up and touch a ceiling which is just a couple of inches away from whatever snow-pack might be on the roof. Probably you could fill that space with high-density foam (like in a freezer door) to keep the snow cold and the sleeper warm but if that’s standard design I haven’t heard it mentioned.
Maybe these problems are solved, and there are extreme-climate-ready designs; I sure hope so! Unfortunately the models I see are inevitably photographed in maritime climates which has a real ‘easy mode’ vibe to it.
I am not an architect or hvac professional, just a guy who is trying to keep his (really big) home comfortable and dry and finding it to be really complicated! If someone links me to Dakota- or Death Valley-rated tiny home designs I will read with relish.
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Shoot, I can’t find it now, but a few years ago when I was going down the rabbit hole of tiny home designs I found a video of a really sweet build in Alaska. It might have even been a BB post, or something someone linked in the comments. It addressed everything you mention, and it had great, versatile design features. Like, the desk/dining table could fold down to make room to do yoga, and a huge part of one side was a big triple-glazed low-e window so it felt really spacious.
There are a couple companies in Alaska I found in a quick search, but nothing as well-considered as the video I saw…it was a woman and I think she built a couple a year for commissions. If anyone remembers, let us know!
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Frank Gehry could probably stand to hear some criticism. His designs tend to look like the same titanium turd no matter where they are built and are notorious for being difficult to heat and cool properly.
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