If all goes according to plan, Västerås will soon have a harbour with ultra-modern houseboats. Here you will be able to live in self-sufficient and environmentally friendly homes on the water, with all the amenities you can imagine. We were in Västerås this weekend for completely different reasons, and by a funny coincidence were invited to the architectural office that designs the boats, for coffee and cinnamon buns ...
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Funny coincidence
When we had just arrived in Västerås, where we were on the weekend trip with the motorhome, Peter's phone rang. A man who introduced himself as Rolf from Rithuset in Västerås wanted to ask us some questions about living in a houseboat. Guess if he was surprised when we told him that we happened to be in Västerås! Fifteen minutes later, we were drinking coffee and eating cinnamon buns at an architect's office in the centre of Västerås ...
Modern and self-sufficient houseboats
The houseboats designed on the architectural office in Västerås feels hyper-modern. It's not just the look that feels young and fresh. The whole idea of self-sufficient and environmentally friendly housing is contemporary.
Living in one of the houseboats will be like any other modern and comfortable accommodation, with heated floors, an air heat pump and a fireplace for cosiness. Electricity comes both from solar panels on the roof and from a generator that can run on any eco-friendly fuel.
For fresh water, there is a water purifier to remove salt from the seawater, and for wastewater discharge, there is an on-board treatment plant. Thus, the houseboat is almost entirely self-sufficient and environmentally friendly.
Holiday boat instead of 'house'
We who live in a houseboat in Pampas marina in Solna live, according to the Swedish Tax Agency, in small houses on unoccupied land. This means that we are covered by the Planning and Building Act and the regulations that apply to properties in general, with, for example, requirements for building permits, entitlement to ROT deductions and taxable value.
The architectural firm in Västerås has decided to take a completely different approach and register the houseboats as leisure boats instead. In this way, the future residents are subject to completely different rules, which means, for example, that building permits are not required. However, the project has not been easy! The company behind the houseboats has been struggling for many years to get everything in place, and there are still some kinks to work out.
Docks for houseboats in västerås
The piers where the houseboats will be moored are actually already in place in Västerås, thanks to the municipality having built them. We took a trip there together with Rolf and Peter from Rithuset, and it really is a beautiful and charming environment! Unfortunately, I only had my mobile camera with me, which captures colours much worse than the camera, but I think you can still get a feeling.
So the piers are in place and now only a few last practical details need to be praised ashore - then construction can begin.
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Lena - gott för själen says:
It really sounds like a great thing! Hehe, funny that he happened to call just when you were there!
Have a nice Wednesday!
Hug Lena
01 November 2017 - 6:32
Helena says:
Incredible coincidence! And I love the idea of the houseboats!
01 November 2017 - 15:50
Laila MA - Rundt ekvator says:
How lovely. I would love to live here 🙂
01 November 2017 - 7:31
Helena says:
Right? But now we are already living in a houseboat so we are happy 😉.
01 November 2017 - 15:51
Maggan och Ingemar says:
Sounds exciting to live on the water and also self-sufficient. Guess the cost will be quite high, maybe comparable to a smaller villa, Looks nice with the terrace on the roof. Summer cottage all year round 😀
01 November 2017 - 8:43
Helena says:
I have no idea about the costs of operation, but on the other hand you use solar energy and such! But living in a houseboat is a bit like living in a house 😉.
01 November 2017 - 15:52
mittgodastefinaste says:
Cool!
Hugs Jenny
01 November 2017 - 9:00
Helena says:
Right? Fun with new ideas I think! 🙂
01 November 2017 - 15:53
Alexandra says:
So cool! I could imagine living there... if it were not for the fact that Västerås is so heavenly boring. 😉
I wonder how much a houseboat like this will cost?
01 November 2017 - 9:06
Helena says:
Haha, yes I also prefer to live in a houseboat in Stockholm. But if I were to live in Västerås, then I would definitely want to live here! 🙂 (Do not think the prices are completely clear, and so it will depend a bit on what options you make, etc.)
01 November 2017 - 15:54
Ditte says:
It's a funny thought, but I don't think houseboats are particularly attractive. More the opposite! Do not like that they are so high. But the location in Västerås is great.
I'm also not really fond of the aqua villas that exist on the Pampas, but think that a boat/houseboat should be more like a boat. (Whether it can be moved or not. That's why I think "Freedom" is nice. )
01 November 2017 - 9:10
Helena says:
I know you don't like the aqua villas Ditte, which look more like houses than boats. I myself think it is charming with houseboats that are really boats, although I like floating villas too 🙂 (And in a way, the boats in Västerås are more boat than Freedom really ...;))
01 November 2017 - 16:56
Mamma C says:
What a coincidence with the phone call you received. I think they were a bit over the top for my taste.
01 November 2017 - 9:15
Helena says:
Isn't that a funny coincidence!!!?
01 November 2017 - 16:57
Steve says:
That phone call was certainly a lucky coincidence. Now you can add "houseboat consultant" to your business cards.
I'm not too keen on the look of the boats, but it's a very interesting project that could put Västerås on the map even more.
01 November 2017 - 12:05
Helena says:
Haha, "houseboat consultant" doesn't sound too bad 😉 Isn't it a fun project? We love living in a houseboat, and definitely think more people should be allowed to do it! 🙂
01 November 2017 - 16:58
Ruth i Virginia says:
Not exactly architectural beauties.
And why you would want to live on water in a more or less...
ordinary house, I don't understand. Your houseboat is a real houseboat
and no ersatz, like these.
Novelty - then it doesn't matter what it costs. 🙂
01 November 2017 - 14:14
Helena says:
Glad you like our houseboat Ruth! 🙂 Here where we live, many people live in "floating villas". I myself like living by water so I can probably understand that you want to live in a floating house, but we love our Freedom boat the most of course! 🙂
01 November 2017 - 17:01
BP says:
You have to be in the right place at the right time, so to speak. Fun with the houseboat park in Västerås harbour, some new thinking there, even if the idea itself is reminiscent of Marinstaden in Nacka nacka.se/stadsutveckling-trafik/har-planerar-och-bygger-vi/sok-projekt-pa-namn/marinstaden/#panel-startpage.
The actual design of the houseboat I am not so fond of either, I must say. It looks like a mini cruise ship or a small prison with a picnic area on the roof;-)
01 November 2017 - 14:49
Helena says:
I have heard about that naval town in Nacka! Maybe you should go there and check it out at some point ... have you been there?
01 November 2017 - 17:07
BP says:
No, but my husband has been there when the "project" was in about the same position as the one in Västerås. Or maybe not quite, but the aqua villas could not be sold. That was two years ago.
01 November 2017 - 23:24
annar aas says:
Hello, do you have any idea what it will cost to live there. When I walked past your place I was very fond of your accommodation. I have no roots in Sweden, but I have special experiences of Västerås. I was forcibly placed there as a conscientious objector once upon a time. Yes, it feels like it was a different time.
01 November 2017 - 15:54
Helena says:
Oops, forced placement doesn't sound great ...! It will hopefully be a completely different thing if you visit Västerås today! 🙂 I do not know what the accommodation will cost. First you have to buy the boat and then I guess you pay some fee for the mooring per month, but we did not ask about that.
01 November 2017 - 17:09
Solan says:
Like a functional house on water. Interesting with some new thinking. Sounds like a trip to the cucumber city next year....
01 November 2017 - 16:55
Helena says:
I like both innovation and living on water, so I hope to see the houseboats in place soon 🙂 .
01 November 2017 - 17:10
Lars Permeln says:
I don't really understand why you should have to complicate things and choose to build an environmentally friendly house like a boat on water. Clearly better and more long-term, as I see it, to build houses on solid ground and not too close to open water, given rising sea levels.
01 November 2017 - 21:31
Helena says:
But ... can't you do both ...? We who live in a houseboat must say that it is a fantastically cosy accommodation 🙂 And we usually think that if the water rises ... then we simply rise with ... 😉 .
01 November 2017 - 22:20
Marina says:
Exciting! It will be interesting to see how much interest there will be and how many people will follow suit.
02 November 2017 - 11:05
Kors och Tvärs says:
What fun that Västerås is investing in this and so cool that you were in place right then!
02 November 2017 - 18:43