The Scholten family is living a life made for Instagram.
In June 2015, husband, wife, two teenage daughters, and their adorable dog packed up their belongings and moved into a cabin-like wooden dwelling built inside a greenhouse.
Preparing dinner @greenhouse_living #urbanfarming #thegreenhouseproject #rotterdam #family
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on Aug 3, 2015 at 2:36pm PDT
Designed by students at the University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the Concept House pushes the limits of sustainability by allowing residents to grow food in a rooftop vegetable garden. It also uses some unusual construction materials to trap heat inside, helping to reduce energy costs.
When a professor put out a call asking for a "test family" to live in the experimental home for about three years, Helly Scholten applied on the spot.
"After this experience, I could never go back to a conventional house," Scholten, whose career as a “botanical stylist” involves styling plants and flowers for photo shoots, told The New York Times. "This is a house that works for you, rather than you working for it."
Located in Rotterdam's docklands neighborhood, the Concept House doubles as a home and a farmers' market.
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on Feb 28, 2016 at 10:04am PST
A vegetable garden blankets the 1,450-square-foot roof, which the project's designers describe as an "edible roof."
Water cress salad #urbangardening #cityfarming #rooftopgreenhouse #girly #greenhouse #salad
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on May 27, 2015 at 11:46am PDT
Source: The New York Times
The zucchini, cauliflower, beets, watermelon, peppers, and lettuce meet most of the family's produce needs.
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on May 16, 2015 at 12:00pm PDT
They whip up fresh smoothies, dubbed "greenhouse shakes."
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on Feb 28, 2016 at 11:07pm PST
Tomatoes grow year-round. "We give them away," Scholten told The New York Times.
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on Sep 21, 2015 at 3:02pm PDT
Source: The New York Times
Food prep happens inside the house, where wooden furniture and stainless steel appliances create a rustic-industrial feel.
Preparing #christmaseve dinner with our daughter Roos #happyfamily #greenhouselove #friends
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on Dec 24, 2015 at 5:14am PST
Still, you never feel truly indoors in the Concept House. Windows slanted toward the sun invite lots of natural light in.
#greenhouseliving #chibbhouse #thegreenhouseproject
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on Apr 25, 2015 at 9:29am PDT
Source: The New York Times
Hammocks and swings make for a quirky seating area.
Today it is a lovely sunny saturday in #rotterdam #sunnysaturday #greenhouselove #greenhouselife
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on Nov 28, 2015 at 4:08am PST
The walls of the home are coated in heat-absorbing loam stucco. The stucco cools the unit during hot days, and releases the heat in the night.
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on Aug 29, 2015 at 3:26am PDT
Source: The New York Times
Pipes carrying ambient air run underneath the house. The earth cools the air in summer and heats it up in winter.
Working on the greenhouse #greenhouse #greenhouseliving #thegreenhouseproject #urbangarden
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on May 2, 2015 at 11:58am PDT
Source: The New York Times
The family's lease runs out in summer 2018. The Concept House will likely be sold for around $554,000.
#greenhouseliving #chibbhouse #thegreenhouseproject
A photo posted by ChibbHouse (@greenhouse_living) on Apr 25, 2015 at 9:31am PDT
Source: The New York Times
