These solar powered, floating homes could be the future of housing

Danielle Muoio

A staggering 4.2 million Americans could be displaced by rising sea levels in the next 100 years, according to a Nature Climate Change study.

Tidal HouseTerry and Terry Architecture

But a floating home could help you continue living safely along a coastline.

California-based Terry & Terry Architecture has designed floating concepts that it feels could very well be the future of housing down the road. Scroll down for a closer look.

Called the Tidal House, the floating home is still very much in the conceptual phase. But interestingly enough, the design was inspired by oil rigs, of all things.

Terry and Terry Architecture

'We can take such a crude (thing)... and turn it around to find a more positive way of using that technology,' Alex Terry, a leading architect at the firm, told Tech Insider.

Like oil rigs, the homes would be built with retractable feet that can plunge into water and attach to a pier or the bottom of a bay.

Terry and Terry Architecture

'I suspect, to be realistic, it's more designed for bay water or lagoons or estuaries,' Terry said. 'I think open ocean would be a little more challenging.'

The current Tidal House concept comes with three floors that fit a living and dining area, four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. There's even a deck that can fold out for sunbathing.

Terry and Terry Architecture

There would also be room for a garden on the side, Terry said.

Terry envisions the homes coming with an at-home battery system like the Tesla Powerwall that could store energy collected from solar panels on the roof of the house.

Terry and Terry Architecture

There would also be a rain filtration system on the roof so you would always have clean drinking water.

Terry and Terry Architecture

Although the Tidal House could be used to live off a coastline, Terry said he could see building the homes in areas prone to flooding so people could live without constantly worry about recurring damages.

Terry and Terry Architecture

There are other use cases for the Tidal House too. 'This could be converted into a little hospital too -- it's a decent size and it could be bigger or smaller,' Terry explained.

Terry said a Tidal House big enough to fit two families would cost around $2 million, but that price could drop if there was enough demand.

Terry and Terry Architecture

'We're at this point where we like to see the response in the public,' Terry said. 'And then maybe, at a certain point, we will pursue it a bit more aggressively.'

Terry and Terry Architecture

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