A Unique Floating Home
Tardigrade is a truly unique, characterful floating home that has been completely renovated from the hull up with a designer's eye and a technologist's brain. She's a continuous cruiser narrowboat living in London canals, built in 1980 and being renovated by us since 2021.
The result is a bright, airy, and flexible living space unlike any other. As an architect and a creative technologist, we designed the open-plan interior to be completely modular. Furniture folds away to create a huge, uninterrupted space perfect for hosting friends, yoga, or just enjoying a minimalist lifestyle.
The custom LED lighting, designed to trace the elegant form of the boat, creates a warm and architectural glow throughout the living space.
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Tardigrade isn't just beautiful; it's intelligent. We engineered a custom 'smart' system that gives complete control of off-grid life with real-time monitoring and control capabilities.
Smart Lighting Control
Custom controller with sliders for mood-based lighting depending on battery levels
Battery & Solar Monitoring
Real-time battery bank and solar charging status dashboard
LiveGrid Integration
Advanced energy management system connecting all boat systems
Complete interior and electrical refurbishment to make it more beautiful, liveable and smart. A journey from empty hull to a sophisticated floating home.
Looked ok but there was no insulation. The boat appeared decent from the outside, but underneath the surface was a different story. Built in 1980, Tardigrade had the bones of a good narrowboat but lacked the modern systems and insulation needed for comfortable living. This was the beginning of our vision to transform her into a smart, efficient floating home.
Removing old walls, floor, everything basically. This was the most dramatic phase - stripping away decades of previous modifications and additions to reveal the true structure of the boat. Every surface was carefully assessed and removed where necessary, creating a blank canvas for our architectural vision while preserving the essential character of the narrowboat.
So much rust was sanded off. This painstaking process involved treating every inch of the steel hull and internal framework. Decades of oxidation were carefully removed, revealing the solid foundation beneath. This crucial preparation work ensured that all subsequent installations would have a clean, stable base to build upon.
Professional spray foam insulation was installed. This modern insulation system transformed the boat's thermal performance, creating an efficient barrier against the elements. The spray foam application ensured complete coverage in all the curved and irregular spaces typical of narrowboat construction, eliminating thermal bridges and creating a foundation for year-round comfort.
We moved in and still had a lot to do. This phase represented both excitement and challenge - living aboard while continuing the construction process. Installing the custom electrical systems, smart technology, and modular interior elements while maintaining our daily life on the water. Every day brought new progress toward our vision of a truly smart floating home.
Took 2 years, but we finally finished. The transformation was complete - from a tired old narrowboat to a sophisticated smart floating home. Every system carefully planned and executed, from the custom LED lighting that traces the boat's elegant form to the advanced monitoring systems that provide complete control over off-grid living. Tardigrade had become everything we envisioned and more.
A glimpse into the daily life and unique features of this floating home.
Unique and bright aesthetics
Open plan interior design
Flexible Layouts
Warm and cosy
A delightful bathroom
Eye catching exterior
