Originally designed in the early 1950's by Japanese architect Makoto Masuzawa, the 9tubohouse is only 9 square tubo (or tsubo). A tsubo is a square made up of two tatami mats and nine of them is equal to only 538 square feet. See floorplans for this compact design after the jump...
The 9tubohouse has seen a recent resurrection, thanks to contemporary Japanese designers Makoto Koizumi and Yasuyuki Okazaki, head of Commdesign, who began selling models of the house online in 2002. The house costs about 90-150K USD, though it's only available in Japan for now, and takes about 5 to 6 months to build.
The 9tubohouse website is in Japanese, so we didn't understand anything except the photos, which make it clear that this is one exceptional small space design. Check out the rest of it at 9tubohouse.com.
(Images: Soichi Murazumi)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
i love it! i recently lived in 480 square feet and i enjoyed every minute of it. this would be an upgrade.
view The Bretttorrium's profile
I know what 500 sq ft feels like and I think just the downstairs is that. Great use of space, though!
One of the links on the site has several different design options: http://www.9tubohouse.com/lineup/index.html
view Jason's profile
Also, tsubo isn't used for home size, it's used for lot size (and 40 tsubo is a standard urban lot). One tsubo is about 36 sq ft. Jo is the unit of measurement for inside space.
A jo is equal to a tatami mat. A standard room is 4.5 - 14 jo (6 is a good sized room in Japan). A tatami is 33.5 x 70.5 (generally) meaning 9 tatami would be about 150 sq ft.
This place is definitely bigger than that. I would guess 700 - 800 sq feet. total for both floors.
view Jason's profile
Sorry... bad info on my part. A 40 tsubo lot would be a standard SUBurban lot. Urban lots are MUUUUCH smaller.
view Jason's profile
Haa!
English page: http://www.9tubohouse.com/eng/index.html
view Jason's profile
Well... dang. It says 50 sq m which is 538 sq ft. It really doesn't seem that small!
view Jason's profile
This is almost like a dream come true. I love it. Where do I sign up?
view Jose A's profile
The way it's attached to the main house - it appears to be more of an In-Law/Newlywed unit.
view bepsf's profile
I officially have too many choices for a summer home. This one is another to add to the list... PERFECTION!!!
view jeffnyc's profile
I wonder how they came up with
Boo-Hoo-Woo.com
?
view baileyb's profile