And how is this supposed to help homeless people? If they had $24,500 they wouldn't be homeless!!!

I could totally live in that cube! Well as a little vacation getaway at least.

Exactly what I was thinking, TT09!

A dishwasher seems like a huge space-waster for a place this small. How many dishes are you going to have in there?

I love the idea of tiny homes for the homeless, but this is too expensive and fancy to be practical. Maybe some of the abandoned homes in another thread could be hostels for the homeless, if monitored by some social services agency (after being rehabbed into usability, of course.) Someone would need to be responsible for checking things since a lot of the homeless (not all, but a lot) have drug or mental health issues that make them somewhat irresponsible. I don't see a dishwasher as a necessity! But a shower stall with a hanging cable for hand laundry might be useful...

The cost of caring for the homeless is actually very high when you factor in all the healthcare they need because of the exposure to the elements. It costs the state quite a lot, upwards of a million dollars per homeless person, to take care of things like frostbite and gangrene and respiratory illnesses, especially when they happen over and over during the year. $24,000 for a small home is a substantial savings, even if we gave them a new one every year.

Considering the cost of land, wouldn't it be a better use of resources to build an apartment building?

this is not FOR the homeless, as i took it. it's more about realizing how little most people on this planet have. while in america it's all about how much can we super size everything in our lives. it's about simplifying.

wasn't this already posted just a few weeks ago??

"And how is this supposed to help homeless people? If they had $24,500 they wouldn't be homeless!!!"

The idea I assume is to sell in bulk to municipalities for their social services programs.

A dishwasher is simplifying?

But yeah, I could totally live in one.

Now to get a mortgage for it, because I don't have 24,500 dollars lying around.

I would in a heartbeat if I were single/no kids. It's amazing how your quality of life goes up when you don't have to worry about big debts or high rents. I would take this over a big house = big mortgage any day!!

[And I agree... dishwasher is sort of silly in this space.]

I could see that for single senior citizens maybe. A cluster of buildings around a community center.

And who says this is "the world's smallest home"? Small for the developed world, certainly. Even for AT readers in NYC or London or Hong Kong. But 144 sf is fairly average compared to shanties, huts, and even block houses in various parts of the world.

Reminds me of a house on the Lost island. I live in a NYC 550 sq ft studio and love my dishwasher, love it.

And agree with other comments that "homeless" is a simplistic misnomer.

Most street people are without homes because of some combination of drug, alcohol or mental health issues. They need regular help and supervision and can't live on their own at any price.

I could build a 12x12 cube for a lot less than 24,500. Unfortunately I'd still have to spend between 500,000 and 700,000 to drop it on a lot and hook up services. I'm not sure how this is helping the homeless.

We love to read all the comments - actually its not just 144 square feet. Its 1728 cubic feet. There are two floors inside, and we use every square inch! These can be used for students, small families, anyone who wants to live in a cost effective way. One thing people in Canada are doing is renting a 12x12 space in someones back yard and putting in the Cube - a very cost effective way of living in Vancouver, which has some of the highest property values in North America. Other people are using them as revenue property, without the various issues of having a suite in your home. You can check out the web site at www.twelve3.ca

I would trade my 550 sq foot apt for a free standing home any day.

A dishwasher? Really? What a waste in a 12x12 space - I would need that for storage. I don't even use the one I have in my 2/1 ~ 1000sf.

I like the idea of doing something of the homeless, but don't think a dishwasher is needed. The pricetag is hight too, especially for the homeless.

@SherryBinNH Being mentally ill doesn't make a person "somewhat irresponsible".

@alina I agree that it would be costly to help the homeless, but they have the type of illnesses you mention because they are homeless.

ummmm, it doesn't say that it was designed for homeless people to buy!! It says he designed it in honor of her, in other words, he was probably moved by her story and wanted to challenge designing a space the same size and was she lived in.

Anyway, I think it's cute and very creative and I want my mom to get something like this for her lake property because they won't let her build a normal cabin on it because it's too close to the water (flooding)!!

Maybe we should show this to that couple living in the 175 sq ft apartment in upper Manhattan which has no closets. I suspect this is more functionally designed.

I have more of an issue with the cabinets than the dishwasher. They look like those rubbermaid container things. Don't like 'em.

And I could see myself living in one of these if I could put it on a fair sized parcel of land. I think it would encourage the dwellers to enjoy the outdoors more.

But, I prefer small homes with larger yards for gardening and relaxing.

Dear lord, what a bunch of Negative Nellies.

Could we just try to ignore the inspired-by-homelessness part and judge it purely on appearance and price.

This place is very cool. It could use a touch more "curb appeal" but still, very nicely laid-out and much better priced than some of the other precious prefab places on the market.

And for you dishwasher-haters, I'm sure with some imagination, it could easily be replaced with more storage space.

Also, isn't the 'dishwasher' actually the fridge? Maybe it's my untrained eye but it looks like a mini-fridge. Love this but not sure I could live in it. As a getaway, sure.