LittleDiggs

170 sq ft In the Yukon Territory

 

170 sq ft
Location: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
Designer/Builder: Laird Herbert

Laird Herbert has a passion for designing small spaces. When I asked him what his motivation and inspiration was, he commented with the following:

I'm a big fan of the modern/boxy approach to portable tiny house design. The flat roof is both simple to build and gives the space a much more open and airy feeling. I tried to go for a design that would defy the cabins size. I encourage anyone considering building a tiny house to think more about a flat roof!

Despite the vast amounts of land, our land prices have skyrocketed (most people get paid really well up here, our government subsidizes the territories heavily), and so about two year ago I decided to build a tiny house. It was 16' and very modern and boxy. I enjoyed designing, building and living in it so much that I decided to build another this winter. I've decided to try and make a living from building them, so I sold the first one, and this second is currently for sale. My favorite part is the designing - I have several other models that I am really excited to build, including one that I hope to use natural building techniques.

The construction details:

This home is 20' long by 8.5' wide, mounted on a trailer rated to 7000lb. The winters are quite cold, so it features triple pane windows, spray foam insulation and a wrap of 2" of insulation. It has a full-size propane range, half size fridge, instant tankless hot water, 35 gallon tank, shower and compact bathtub, composting toilet, bathroom sink, queen size loft, pull out couch, ultralight drywall and birch plywood finishing, hardwood flooring, and granite tiles. I used FSC wood where ever possible, including cedar tongue and groove siding, and some reclaimed materials, though they are hard to find in the Yukon. It also has steel studs, in an effort to reduce the weight.

Lego-Style Studio Apt In A Former Pigeon Loft

Where: Barcelona
Architects: Barbara Appolloni
Owner: Christian Schallert
Size: 260 sq ft / 24 sq meters

Designed by Spanish architect Barbara Appolloni and located in Barcelona’s hip Born district, this tiny apartment is a former pigeon loft remodeled into a great bachelor pad.

Located in Barcelona's hip Born district, the tiny apartment is a remodeled pigeon loft. Christian says its design was inspired by the space-saving furniture aboard boats, as well as the clean lines of a small Japanese home.

When Christian Schallert isn't cooking, dressing, sleeping or eating, his 24 square meter (258 square feet) apartment looks like an empty cube. To use a piece of furniture, he has to build it.

Check out the video below!

Shower, sink, and toilet


Apartment entrance

Before shot

Before shot

Christian's hosted up to 40 people in his apartment.

The bed is ingeniously designed to pull from underneath the outside terrace.

The bed can be made to become a couch by partially pulling it out.

The dining table seats up to five people, is pulled from the wall revealing a window.

The terrace off the apartment expands the living space, giving the appearance of an apartment that seems larger than it is.

There's an additional spatious roof terrace up above the apartment which includes a generous lounge platform on one side and a japanese soaking tub on the opposite side.

Watch a full tour by the owner himself:
 

+ From Homedsgn
+ Video by Faircompanies

EGG HOUSE POD

Architects: dmvA
Living Area: 215 sq. ft (20 m2)

Belgian architectural firm dmvA designed 'blob VB3', a mobile unit for the office of xfactoragencies as an extension to the 'house'. the  space - egg house consists of a bathroom,kitchen, lighting, a bed and several niches for storage. the nose can be opened automatically and functions as a kind of porch. It's easily transportable and can also be used as an office, guest room or garden house. Polyester was the primarily material used in construction of the 'blob VB3'.

+ From Designboom
+ Photos by Mick Couwenbergh/Rini Van Beek & Vercruysse Frederick

Living Furniture in a Chatou

France
H2O Architectes
258 sq. ft. (24 meters sq.)

Adapting to small living spaces has always been a challenge. This is not only a challenge in big urban cities, but also everywhere else where space is at a premium. In France, a family builds a living space for a teenager; it is arranged into four split levels, dividing the 12m² space. It’s made out of birch plywood and allows for washing, sleeping, studying and playing. The pavilion is located in the backyard. The intent of the original design was to enable a teenager to live independently and autonomously.

+ Unplggd
+ H2O Architectes

63.02 DEGREES OF LIVING

Nakano, Tokyo
24.58m2 (264 sq. ft.)
Sshemata Archtecture

63.02°, is built in a densely residential area in Nakano, Tokyo; a small building with an office and an apartment for rent. In order to fit this house into the existing propert, the facade of 63.02° is inclined 63.02 degrees toward the front road, so that a wide and deep view is acquired. From the large windows that are opened on the inclined facade, you can see neighbor's cherry tree and the cityscape.

+ Sschemata Architects

100% GREEN & OFF THE GRID

Canada
270 sq. ft (made it feel like 800 sq. ft)
Architects:  ALTIUS ARCHITECTURE + SUSTAIN DESIGN STUDIO

Love this mobile prefab unit; minimalist aesthetic with smart and functional elements. Additionally, it's able to 'live off the grid' and is 100% eco-friendly. A smaller building, with simple - or no foundations, and minimal impact on the land - such as the miniHome - uses 1/10th the materials and resources to construct as a larger, site-built home or cottage (depends on the size of the house or cottage of course, but generally, we refer to a 2000sf dwelling w. basement). Housing manufactured in factories is designed for production efficiency and optimizes materials in the workflow - which means next to no waste. It is very difficult to achieve the kind of quality control, efficient and high performance building assemblies that the miniHome features with conventional, site-built housing. Some models are expandable by combining modules provided by the manufacturer Read more >

+ Mini Home Website

 

BOXHOME

Norway
205 square feet
Sami Rintala (Architect)

"Just a generation ago, Nordic men were all expect-ed to build their own house, and Rintala wants to return to that practice. Recently, however, especially in his native Finland, there has been an exodus from the countryside, with people moving to poorly built urban constructions, and the tradition has largely been lost.

Rintala is interested in incorporating traditions from other cultures, too. The galley of the Boxhome is a fully integrated kitchen and dining room, and the resident would eat and entertain in the Japanese style on a platform at a low table; the two hot plates and sink in the surface of the table are nods to the Korean way of eating. (Guests are given the raw materials which they cook themselves.) It is sociable and guarantees that the food is hot and prepared exactly to each person’s requirements.

Although the Boxhome was designed for single occupancy, it can easily accommodate guests. The platform in the seating area becomes a twin bed, and the bathroom can be made more private by strategically hanging curtains from the central beams. As the four of us sit in the living quarters, it feels curiously tranquil and comforting, the darkness of the roughly hewn wood walls taking on the characteristics of a cave. Windows and lamps illuminate the irregularities, and the perfume of the wood—the resinous smell of pine forests—permeates every corner of the space. Perhaps because smells are so evocative, it all feels part of the natural world."  (Story by Clare Dudman / Photos by Pia Ulin)
Full story here >

+ Dwell Magazine
+ Architect - Sami Rintal

MINIMALIST PREFAB: The Cabin

Villiers-en-Morvan, France
215 sq ft

Yet another example that simplicity, economy, and reduction can be functional, as well as spatially and architecturally interesting. Some may say that this is nothing more than a expensive tool shed, but fans of sustainability, form, function, and minimalism may say otherwise. I great design challenge...what do you think about the price point and materials used? How could you do it cheaper while keeping it sustainable, and maintaining a high standard of form and function?

The cabin: it is a parallelepiped*; it measures 20 square meters (3 x 7.6 x 3.5h); it sits on white concrete pier foundations; the framing is Fir and metal; the siding is Northern Fir treated with linseed oil; the double-glazed low-e glass windows are wood, painted; the insulation is an innovative new product made from duck feathers (!!!); the interior is lined with formaldehyde-free OSB panels; the roof and window caps are made of zinc; all the interior wood joinery is painted; the flooring is rubber; the bathroom is brushed stainless steel; and the kitchen is from Ikea. The cabin was built in 15 days, elsewhere, delivered by truck to the prepared site, and finished in 60 days. Total cost was 30,000 Euros.

+ Architect:  Atelier Correia
+ Notcot.org
+ Materialicious
+ OSB Paneling - ISOROY
+ Rubber Flooring-Norament 925 from Nora-Freudenberg
+ Zinc-VM ZINC
+ Insulation-BATIPLUM
+ Kitchen - Ikea Udden
+ Toilet
+ Bathroom Fixtures-SUPRATECH

*Parallelepiped: Used to describe total width and to describe geometrically a square or rectangular prism or a solid with six faces, each of which is a parallelogram.

About 100 Square Feet Per Person

New York City
West Village
200 Sq. Ft.

Featured in the NY Times, Emily Hass and her partner, Kristian Borysevicz, show that with some organization, editing, imagination, and a reverence for each other, living in a 200 sq. ft. apartment doesn't have to mean a leap of faith but rather a fundamental choice that affords them to do other things. Both, have travelled extensively, as well as hold studios outside their apartment.

Mr. Borysevicz grew up learning construction which he applied towards a refresh of parts of the kitchen and bathroom. Most of the couple’s clothes and food, and some of their books, fit into a small closet next to the kitchen.

The living / dining areas are smartly layed out which allows for multi-functional activities; lounge, eat, entertain, counter space for personal work or for cooking.

Keeping the bedroom minimal with choice pieces that double up as design / function, makes the already cozy space appear more spacious and pleasant to be in.

+ New York Times, ''About 100 Square Feet Per Person''
+ Photography by:  Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times

STUDIO SPACE W/ STORAGE GALORE

194 sq ft
France

[ French to English translation ]
Storage behind the doors which are based in the decoration of this studio, hide a small kitchen, a bathroom and quantities of arrangements.

The owners of this studio addressed to the architect Valerie Mazérat to reorganize the space of this old room of good. In this part of 6 meters out of 3, it aligned the settees over the length and distributed the other functions over the width, dissimulated behind doors out of smooth wooden, painted in white and without handles to create a visual unit. The whole of the walls “was doubled” of wall cupboards and arrangements.






+ Marie Claire Masion