This furniture designer's stealth van conversion has been created as a "test lab" for mobile, "democratic" small space design.
Converting a van into a tiny home on wheels is generally a do-it-yourself affair, with results varying from the all-out impressive renovation to more basic, affordable versions. But what happens when a furniture designer decides to take up such a project?
Based out of Germany, Michael Hilgers (featured previously for his space-saving furniture designs) created his own mobile home and office out of a standard Fiat Ducato van. Here's a quick tour (it's in German but that's where YouTube's auto-translation tool can come in):
© Michael Hilgers
© Michael Hilgers
As Hilgers explains, he was prompted to undertake what he is calling the Vanjoy project because he couldn't find anything that suited him:
To be honest, I just needed a new car and after some unsuccessful market research I decided to build the van of my dreams by myself because there was absolutely no product on the market which could fulfill my really simple needs. I wanted a compact van to transport material I need to create prototypes. I needed a standard car which is compact enough for parking spaces in Berlin and I loved the idea of having a simple minimalist camper van. So rather than buying three cars, I created this hybrid solution.
It's quite a conversion, needless to say. From the outside, it looks like any regular van. Inside, there's basically two zones: a 'wet' zone for cooking and getting ready in the morning, and a leisure zone that combines sleeping, sitting, dining and working.
© Michael Hilgers