The Tiny Life

This interesting Micro House is an interesting approach to the needs of day to day life.  Taking space utilization to an extreme, the designers have taken very practical approaches to meeting the needs of the resident.

From the outside, the micro compact Paco House is a tiny cube, measuring three meters square. The contemporary prefab home boasts a minimal white facade devoid of details, yet it’s oddly intriguing. Designed with space efficiency in mind, Paco House was created with a minimal footprint – both physically and environmentally speaking – in order to blend into its environment with little impact to its surroundings. Because of its small dimensions, Paco doesn’t require an infrastructure. Eighty per cent of the home is manufactured in a plant, allowing for customization to the home and virtually endless possibilities for geographic placement. Paco House packs alternative energies into its small but oh-so-sweet design. This eco-friendly self-contained accommodation features solar and wind energy, water recycling and a biodegradable toilet.

Not Safe For Work (nothing too bad, just not work appropriate) More photos / Via

Safe for work here

I had a heck of a time trying to find more information about this apartment. Here is what I know, it is roughly 7.5 meters, it is in Japan, yeah that’s it.    The center block I think mainly consists of stairway, so you simply climb up the middle and exit there to the perimeter of the apartment.  There does seem to be shades for privacy, but the bathroom is still left open.

If anyone know more about this please chime in.

via

Sitting at 600 square feet, this house uses reclaimed Douglas Fir and reclaimed concrete (no idea that they could do that). It is interesting because the architect stated he wanted to maintain the current environment, blending the house with its surroundings. Some how large swaths of concrete was they way they choose to do this….I don’t really understand it, but regardless, I like how it turned out. I am a sucker for exposed concrete and large expanses of widows, this house both!

One thing that they did really focus on was not to disturb the site when building, typically step one of building a house is usually to level the lot plus 500 feet in every direction, build it up with extra dirt, then drop a house on it, this was done in a manner where the ground wasn’t touched except for the actual size of the concrete pad. It was well worth it, leaving a house that seemed to sprout from the earth itself.

The house utilizes all green materials, with beautiful reclaimed Fir and large windows and clouded doors, the light flows through the house and, in turn, the house seems to flow outwards making it seem larger. The windows look custom to me, I have never seen windows like these and the way they open them is unique.

This house is pretty amazing, being that it is 600 square feet, it has two bedrooms, a bath, living room and kitchen.

Source: here

This concept is from 2 B 2 Architecture, a pod that expands to house people in the arctic zone.   The pod is designed for researchers who are working in frigid climates, pulling solar power from an array on the roof.

The unit is made up of modular pieces and includes a washroom, work/rest area and kitchen. The structure is made up of a steel frame, and clad with carbon panels and polyethylene, thermo-insulating membranes.The mobile unit can fold up into an extremely compact form that measures just 2000 x 1600 x 2300 mm (about 78 x 63 x 91 in) for transport. The unit has pieces that can be pulled out later to provide more space

One feature I like is the bed to table transformation (on right of the photo below), while this is common in motor homes, they usually have a center pole to support it, while this one is mounted via the wall.

Source: here

Once upon a time, I lived in Australia for a while, the thing that  remember so clearly is how big the country is and how much space is available.  The country is the size of the US, with a population well under 25 million, where 80% of that population lives within 50 miles of the coast, this means that the interior of the continent is very very empty.  There is a strong sense of quasi cowboy feel to being in the outback, where I lived while I was there.  This house not only captures that sense of the rough and tumble of the bush, but is sustainable too.  In an odd way this prefab structure has a turret feel, almost medieval.

This prefabricated structure is sited in an isolated mountainous of Australia. Sheathed in copper, the 10×10 foot building closes down to protect it from brush fire, as well as precipitation. The project also manipulates the elements by employing passive heating and cooling techniques and a water collection cistern (which provides running water).

This small building is an excellent example of contemporary modernism. Formally, it responds to the environment while maintaining a rigorously simple geometric composition. Responding to building technology methods, economy, and siting issues, the unit is completely prefabricated and installed on the site.

From: Casey Brown Architecture

Water catchment system

Found this awesome concept for a hotel that would translate nicely to a Tiny House.  The really neat thing about this is that the skin of the structure is highly reflective so when placed in a forest it reflects the forest and almost blends in.  The skin more specifically is mirrored so it reflects outside, but you can see through it from the inside.  This affords a 360 degree view of the natural surroundings.  The architect says it would be “hung” from the tree, which seems both unrealistic and very high impact on the tree even if it could hold it.  None the less its a great idea!  Check the architect’s firm out here

I like allot of the styling of this house, but I am not a fan of the weird angles and I am usually a fan of the weird modern stuff.  However, I do light the really pallet and the accent lighting is a really great touch in this 500 square foot apartment. Whats really interesting is how they have some several areas of exposed ceiling, which looks like an old mill. I could sit here and try to rationalize the sharp angles, so here is what the site said:

Design of this 49 sqm apartment in Barcelona gets its inspiration from Japanese origami art. One wall which separate all functions of the apartment made with this style in mind and that is enough. When the designer create the wall the apartment already had a shell of simple concrete walls. Some parts of ceiling are still uncovered so futuristic design also has rustic elements.

The presence of the separation wall can be felt from the entrance to the apartment. Although all benefits could be seen just from the inside of the apartment. It adds feeling of movement and hidden spaces because of its diagonal form. The furniture in the apartment correspond to futuristic design. It is simple with straight lines. The same could be said about colors in use. Black and white is always part of futuristic interiors. In the end, the apartment design with all its experiments made small space look much more bigger than it is.

More here

I wasn’table to find allot of info on this house, but here is what I know:

Project Name: Holiday Cottage in the Swiss Alps
Location: Flumserberg, Switzerland
Architects: EM2N : Mathias Mueller / Daniel Niggli, Zurich
Site Area: 630 m2
Built-up Area: 183 m2 thereof 104 m2 habitable (roughly 500 square ft.)
Costs: EUR 0.29 Mio

The architect said this about the building:

Most holiday houses look identical, i.e. like conventional single-family houses. The topography, character and quality of the location are seldom taken into account in the planning. The houses could just as well come from the catalogue of a company that supplies ready-made homes, their architectural expression is accordingly arbitrary. Our design refuses to accept colonising a place at this low level, it represents an approach that relates to the place and the wonderful site beside an alpine field that in summer is a meadow and in winter a ski run.

I has some fascination with prefabs for some reason, this week I came upon a new one by Perform.  The 500 square foot house is essentially a box, but with some very stylish touches.  The front is one large window, offering a huge amount of light and fresh air through a few operable panels.  What I would like to see is this same look, but where the entire wall of windows folds up and out of the way, bring the outdoors in…. Is that too cliché sounding?  The dark wood accents on the outside look great and the inside is a very light and open concept.  With a light stain wooden floor and white walls, the house seems quite spacious.

Being that I am a big cook, I feel this kitchen leaves something to be desired, but it isn’t too bad.  The whole thing comes fully assembled and is shipped via truck or boat.  The in factory construction apparently saves around 15% off the cost.  Another great feature is that it has a green roof and being that it is a flat topped roof, I have visions of picnics or teeing off with some bio-degradable golf balls, even though I am horrible at golf.  All in all it is a nice package, but a price has yet to be seen.

Source: here

I have seen this approach several times, the collision of the old and the new in architecture is a lasting archetype and for good reason!  When done properly I really like the outcome and irony of the juxtaposition of styles.  This house is an 200 year old cottage that has an interior that is minimalist it is amazingly warm.  These two things are often at odds, but a good design can really show that both can exists together very well.

The hut was renovated in 1997 in the Alps.  The construction made sure to maintain the exterior aesthetic all the while bring a modern convinces up to date.  I don’t have a firm idea on the size, but it is quite reasonable.

Here is a rundown from the architect

A small two-hundred-year old Alpine hut near Gstaad that had not been in use for some fifty years was converted for an art collector. The aim was to expose the existing qualities of the anonymous and unassuming functional building and to show them to their best advantage. The wonderful, secluded location and the perfectly proportioned hut, standing on its timber supports, have a magical air that had to be preserved. In order to retain the beauty of the log block with its almost blackened timber beams, the intervention in the façade was limited to installing doors and windows.

The windows are a mixture of traditional and contemporary elements. They are divided horizontally into three and can be slid as a whole so as to improve the ability to furnish the hut despite the restricted spatial conditions. The small additional sliding window is made in the local carpentry tradition and serves to regulate the airflow when kindling the fire. The roof was re-tiled with new shingle and a chimney built in the traditional style. Seen from the outside, the spirit of the up-to-date conversion is hardly perceptible; the small ruptures are too subtle to catch the eye.

In the interior the plan corresponds the traditional division of kitchen, stall and larder. The ceilings and floors are new, but nevertheless constructed in the traditional manner: 14-cm thick wooden planks which make additional insulation superfluous. The kitchen and the bathroom in the former larder are built of massive stone blocks. The stone comes from a local quarry and its unpretentious appearance makes it an ideal addition to the two-hundred-year old timber. The furnishings were especially designed for the location and open up an exciting dialogue with the traditional world of the Alps.

Source here