I am always intrigued with novel uses of common materials. Some enterprising individuals in Austria saw the potential of turning a concrete pipe into a hotel room. I like the clever way this small space was turned into a useable space—at least for short term use. When it comes down to it, this solves the problem of temporary shelter—safe, quiet, easy to maintain, and probably has a fairly constant room temperature due to all of the thermal mass. I can see using a shelter such as this as a temporary place to sleep while building a home on your property. WIth some straw bales around the exterior, it would be well insulated. Upon completion of the primary home, the pipe becomes the rainwater cistern or possibly an emergency tornado shelter.
more small hotel rooms: weburbanist.com
hotel: dasparkhotel