Size: 270-370 sq ft
Location: NYC
Architects: nARCHITECTS
The city on Tuesday unveiled the winner of a competition to design and build an apartment tower on city-owned land composed entirely of micro-units, 55 homes the size of hotel rooms that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg hopes will be the first in a wave of tiny apartments aimed at addressing the city’s shortage of studio and one-bedroom apartments.
Read more... NYTimes
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Size: 320 sq ft
Architects: Poteet Architects
The only thing it's missing is an economy kitchen, else, it's replete with bathroom, bedroom, and livingroom...and over all rock'n! Story by Dwell
Texas architect Jim Poteet helped Stacey Hill, who lives in a San Antonio artists’ community, wrangle an empty steel shipping container into a playhouse, a garden retreat and a guesthouse for visiting artists. The container measures a narrow and long 8 by 40 feet; Hill asked that a portion of the square footage be retained as a garden shed and the rest serve as the living space. The architect added floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows, heating and air-conditioning, a green roof, bamboo flooring and wallcovering, a small sink and shower and a composting toilet, and placed the structure on a base made from recycled telephone poles. “The container, as we call it, is a great escape for me because the space is pure, uncluttered, wonderfully sunlit, quiet and has a great view of my garden,” says Hill. “My two young daughters love it because it’s practically an empty box ready to play, create and pretend in.”
While shopping for containers, Hill was instantly drawn to this one’s existing blue color and chose to buy it and leave it as is. Poteet added floor-to-ceiling sliding doors to allow light in, as well as a cantilevered overhang to shade a window on the left side, which houses a small garden storage area.Photo by: Chris Cooper
Poteet replaced one wall with a large steel-and-glass lift-and-slide window wall, which he says makes the best use of indirect light. “The big sliding door and picture window make the 250-square-foot living space feel big,” says Hill.
Photo by: Chris Cooper
The architect and his team devised an armature on the back of the container that will eventually be covered with vines, concealing the AC and heating unit, the reservoir for graywater and the composting toilet outlet.
Photo by: Chris Cooper
Jon Ahrens of Madrone Landscaping, who layed out the plantings around the container, implemented a green roof on a drip watering system. The cantilevered overhang at rear is planted with cacti.
Photo by: Chris Cooper
Reeds grow from a tub outside the steel structure. “We capture the graywater from the sink and shower, and use it to water the plants in the garden,” says Hill.Photo by: Chris Cooper
Since the only spot for a sink was within the main living space, Poteet designed a wide, sculptural basin that would integrate well into the interior, and added a Zurn faucet. The small step leads right into the shower and toilet area. The artworks are by San Antonio artists John Mata, Kimberly Aubuchon, Chris Sauter and Cruz Ortiz; the X came from an old Texaco sign.Photo by: Chris Cooper
Poteet sheathed the walls and floor in bamboo ply. “We went to the hardware store on our lunchbreak, looking for inexpensive ply, and they told us they had just gotten a shipment of bamboo ply that someone didn’t pick up, so we got lucky and got it for the same cost,” says Poteet. “It’s renewable, really hard and as good for the floor as it is for the walls.”Photo by: Chris Cooper
Maximizing space was of utmost importance in the 8-by-4-foot bathroom, which consists of an open shower in front of an electric composting toilet by Sun-Mar. Poteet and Hill chose a red sheet metal for the walls and laid down a non-slip epoxy flooring.Photo by: Chris Cooper
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
Phoenix, Arizona
386 sq. ft. Prefab Model
At 386 sq. ft., this unit is the smallest model from V2 World. It's a sustainable prefab micro home which can be added onto in 4 feet increments @ $200/sq. ft. I like the installment of the efficiency kitchen and bath which leaves more space for the living and sleep areas. I would have planned for more seating capacity at the counter to double as the dining area,remove the round dining table, and it's chairs, to make room for a sectional couch (for sleep overs) a generous coffee table that serves as a work area, gaming, and additional dining if needed.
The Hague
322 sq. ft. (30m sq.)
Architects: Queeste Architecten
I've previously blogged about architecture as furniture and its efficiencies. Despite its small footprint, "molding" and "wrapping" allow the furniture and the architecture to do double duty. This apartment, is a “bed & breakfast” located on the third floor in the attic of a private house in The Hague. The client and owner lives in the same building.
"The limited floor space of 30m² has been equipped with the following functions: a sleeping accommodation for 2 people a dining area for up to 4 people a kitchen a toilet a bathroom with shower an installations area various storage facilities. The goal of the design was to create a living environment that would be spacious despite the small volume, providing all the comforts belonging to luxurious contemporary lodging. In addition, Maff Apartment was to have a clear and strong identity to provide a sense of uniqueness for its users." - Via - Dezeen
Location Unknown
388 sq. ft.
Architect: Studiomama
London-based Studiomama has designed this small but sweet beach cottage as a cozy home away from home. The 388-sq.-ft. compact waterfront cottage is built on galvanized steel stilts to prevent flooding, but not to worry – you’ll get your fill of water via the house serene seaside views. This beach house has a rustic look both inside and out. Its facade is clad in cedar shingles, giving it a true “cottage” feel which makes its way indoors with the sawn softwood-clad interior. This awesome compact design keeps it simple, featuring the cozy master sleeping quarters above, and the kitchen, bathroom and the kids’ bunk beds below, covering off all the essentials for a fab family vacation by the shore.
Tons of ideas can be gleaned here to maximize space; stackable chairs, open floor concept, bunk beds and use of loft, efficiency sized kitchen and bath elements.
+ Trendir
Hong Kong
344 sq ft
Residence/Architect: Gary Chang
Hong Kong architect and technophile Gary Chang has the most amazing apartment. His 344-square-foot space can be shifted into at least 24 different layouts, using a funhouse’s worth of sliding walls and detachable shelving.
using shifting wall units suspended from steel tracks bolted into the ceiling, the apartment becomes all manner of spaces — kitchen, library, laundry room, dressing room, a lounge with a hammock, an enclosed dining area and a wet bar.” (nytimes.com)
Chang has lived in this apartment since he was 14, moving in with his parents and three younger sisters. Back then, he used to sleep in the hallway. Now, he uses a hydraulic Murphy bed that he designed himself, which is usually hidden behind a sofa during the day.
Turning his apartment into what he’s named a “Domestic Transformer” hasn’t been cheap. It only cost $45,000 to buy, but his latest design efforts came with a $218,000 price tag.
Still, his experiment in small living is incredibly cool. Personally, if I had a quarter grand to play with, I’d much rather spend it optimizing something creatively rather than on another boring McMansion. [NYtimes]
310 sq. ft. (+70 sq. ft. new loft)
Manhattan, NYC
P+D
P+D make use of scale and simplicity to their advantage.
"We like our place because it's versatile. Since building the new loft, we maximized our livable area and created diverse spaces with varying ceiling heights. This added new circulation and flow within our cube. We also like the impermanence of the space..."
"We like knowing we're not tied down to one layout and can move things around when we feel like something different. We just moved in and are really excited to improve our hand-me-downs and personalize our new home."
UK
347 sq. ft.
Abito
Driven by a purity of thought; abito is dedicated to the elimination of dead space. The central pod becomes the hub of the apartment, housing and hiding all the utilities to liberate space and create a circular walk that makes the flat live and breath every one of its 347 square feet. Physically there is a freedom of movement. Visually there are unhindered views in every direction. And the sturdy walls ensure that your freedom is private freedom. abito is about creating a living environment that is multifunctional, inventive and easy to live in. It’s about quality not quantity.
Residence: Studio Apt
320 Sq. Feet
NYC
Dishes barely touch down in her sink; clothes hang on hangers, not chairs. . A small library fits into custom shelves framing a window seat, and Ms. Cirigliano’s cooking nook, with its light-reflecting stainless-steel backsplash, black minifridge and diminutive chrome range and dishwasher, is next to a dining table designed to accommodate eight.
Prefer a movie? Pull up the white-leather Cassina chair, put your drink on the Eileen Gray end table, open Ms. Cirigliano’s office-in-a-box, and voilà: on the desk is a laptop that doubles as a silver screen.
At night, all files and paperwork retreat into the office cabinet, and a Murphy bed folds down. A narrow sleeper sofa can spring open for a guest. Paradoxically, when an arrangement is so spare, each ruthlessly curated item seems to speak volumes.
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