THE MINIMUM HOUSE

Architect: Makoto Koizum
538 sq. ft. (50 sq. meters)
Japan

Reknowned Japanese architect Makoto Masuzawa designed this small, elegantly simple house in 1952.

The reason for its tiny size is that after World War II, the housing corporation of Japan would only provide loans to build homes that were no larger than 50 square meters.

If you had the means to build a bigger home, you were perceived as being wealthy and not in need of a loan.

The Masuzawa house was dubbed "the minimum house," but Makoto Koizumi, who reintroduced the house to the current Japanese market, said this is a misnomer.

"It should be called the maximum house," he said. "Despite its small space, Masuzawa-san's creativity made the house seem open and spacious."

In 1999, a structural model of Masuzawa's 1952 house was shown at an exhibition in Japan, and Shu Hagiwara decided he wanted to live in such a house and commissioned Koizumi to design a space based on the original blueprint.

Shortly after the home was built, it attracted attention not only from curious onlookers but also from the Japanese media.

Yasuyuki Okazaki, the head of commdesign, a Japanese design firm, took notice and realized that consumers, fed up with drab household design, would be interested in purchasing similar models.

He began selling the house online in 2002.

Branded the "9-tsubo home," it can be purchased for ¥10.9-¥14.6 million ($98,000-$146,000, but that's irrelevant since as of now they're only sold in Japan), and takes 5-6 months to construct.

+ 9tsubo House

Comments

[Carol Goehausen]

Is 50 square meters/ 538 square feet in size measured from the exterior or is it the interior living area? Also, are plans available for building in the USA? Are there any one story versions that are wheel chair accessible?

[m]

not irelevant if you live in japan