As we like to remind friends, New York City is a beach town. In fact, Manhattan is just one of 44 islands in the New York Archipelago. But the only truly privately owned island of them all is the humble 2.5 acre Rat Island, located in the Long Island Sound just off the coast of The Bronx. Though the island was once used to house typhoid patients in the 1800s, it (Spoiler Alert) in fact has no rats. But it may soon have a posh eco-retreat, thanks to its forward thinking Swiss-American owner and NYC-based Jendretzki Design.
Though totally submerged during storm surge high tides, the rocky outcropping of Manhattan schist is actually a viable build site. The designers behind the Rat Island Eco Retreat concept envision a series of prefab gabled cabins with large glass facades overlooking the sound, with decks and docks to accommodate small boats and canoes. The zero-energy buildings will run on solar and wind power with rainwater collection systems.