(This is another trial post from Richele!)
This is real micro living. The Euros get it. They live well, live small, and have a month off in the summer. Here is their next testament to living small: The Micro Compact Home.
I'm not sure what it is on the conversion table but I would guess in the 200 sq ft area. The format is based on high quality compact living spaces such as yachts, cars, and borrowed scale and order from Japanese tea-houses.
As expected, not geared toward a family of four, these places are geared toward short stay living situations such as students, weekenders, and sports and leisure use. Price set between 50,000-55,000
From the manufacturer:
"The m-ch measures 266cm x 266cm x 266cm. The ceiling height is 198cm and the door width is 60cm
Living in an m-ch means focusing on the essential - less is more. The use of progressive materials complements the sleek design. Quality of design, touch and use are the key objectives for the micro compact home team....for 'short stay smart living"
Thanks to the European Airstream newsletter for the tip
-Richele
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
Great post - love the photos. You know it's funny though, to me, not all Europeans live small, at least in the cities. I lived in Germany for awhile and experienced this first hand. The city apartments there were huge, even in Berlin and Munich, compared to popular American cities. Maybe in Paris or London, flats are a bit smallish, but in other European lands, from my travels, the average apt. dweller has a lot more space to stretch out - from Brussels to Zurich to Berlin.
I think too that these homes shown above aren't really meant for living - as in moving in and raising a family. I think these were designed for temporary dwellers - squatters - people who frequent an area for business or pleasure and don't want to invest in a large home.
You know where I'd love to see this used? In the city gardens in Germany, "Schrebergarten". It's where you 'rent' a plot of land for a little seasonal home with a garden. It's in the city, so you can jump on your bike and ride over to your schrebergarten anytime you want. Great for hosting outdoor garden parties or just enjoying some green space.
Richele, again, great post. :)
Holly
you forgot to show the image where they drop it in by helicopter! i love that!
Yes, these were designed for temporary living situations. But how great would this be if you could find an affordable piece of land somewhere [not in LA of course] and then you drop this sucker in for your vacation home/airstream alternative?
richele
this makes me think of an incredibly sleek mobile home. a lot of the space solutions seem inspired by that sort of thing. the teensy lofted bed, built in bench dinette, galley prep/cook area. i, too, think this would be a great 'country house' or vacation home, though i think i'd want things a bit less modular and more personalized.
the concept here really illustrates the difference between european and american affordable small space aesthetics. your average american mobile home goes for about the same price, but is much less space efficient and emphasizes plastic immitation luxury which ends up just looking cheap and shoddy. it's a more is less design ethos. the european equivalent pictured here (while MUCH smaller than a typical trailer) goes for a less is more ethos -- a small space designed tightly but in high quality materials and classic form-follows-function modernist design.
i'd love to take on a middle american trailer home as a modernist design challenge, on a tight interior design budget. that'd probably be my dream home.
Howdy - o. I am in the LA/Malibu area. My husband and I spent 2 yrs traveling around the world, 6 months of it in Europe. I agree with the first post - the apartments in Germany were huge. Paris has very small ones though - NY style. We are almost done with a total remodel on a once hideous, now fab older mobile home in the Santa Monica Mts 10 minutes from Zuma Beach. There is a private lake and hot springs where we live and you can see the stars at night. I was just checking out the archives for some inspiration for the loft addition we added...based on a design in Dwell magazine. Are any of you interior design students? We plan to rent the SWEET studio/mini loft space that we added to an artist or Pepperdine student for about $800 ABI and I am looking for someone VERY special who joneses to decorate and design the kitchen in their own place of this type (on my dime of course)The rental is a completely private self-contained 250 squ ft studio loft with mts views, private TREX deck area with porch swing and custom storage, sleeping loft, 2 person jet air tub that doubles as a Bali style daybed couch during the day, and as a guest bed, full bathroom w/ shower, small office/library...such a SWEET space. anyone who wants to live about 10 minutes from Zuma Beach and has an eye for design...we have a dreamy blank canvas for them to play with...Diane
I'm intrigued by the idea of these being for low impact housing...as in low impact on the environment, When you are spending so little on the actual house, this means you can build more technology, like solar panels on the roof and the like...Also something with this price in a large metropolitan city, such as mine, Seattle, where affordable housing is quite hard to come by...And talk about saving on space...
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