Monday July 23 2012 / Science & Technology - Art & Design
Size - or lack thereof - is everything with a pocket-sized micro home
The micro-compact home designed by Richard Horden was first launched in 2005 when seven of these revolutionary low-energy, ultra-light, prefabricated houses were installed at the University of Munich as part of a student village.
More units of the dwelling, abbreviated ‘m-ch’, have since been set up in the Netherlands, the UK and the USA, with the 16th – aptly named m-ch 016 – recently installed at a spectacular site in Brissago, Switzerland overlooking Lake Maggiore.
The condensed home was bought by private clients to place on their farmland so that their guests had a place to stay.
The new owners had requested that the standard micro home, a 2.6m cube, be enlarged by a metre to accommodate a full size double bed and space for an eight-seater dining table.
The modified champagne coloured dwelling was constructed using a light aluminium frame, with a total weight 1.8 tonnes.
In addition to the double bed – which lifts and lowers – the guest bed and dining and working space, the micro home has a toilet, shower and kitchen fitted with microwave, fridge and freezer.
The compact house, manufactured next to Salzburg in Austria, also has air conditioning and low energy LED lighting, along with beige leather surfaces with custom designed space for a sound system and coffee machine.
Please click http://vimeo.com/44247581 for a video of the micro home being flown in by helicopter
The land where this bespoke m-ch was put down had been prepared with four small foundation pads, with water, waste, electricity and internet all ready for immediate connection.
Horden, of London firm Horden Cherry Lee Architects, was inspired by the ergonomic design and compact comfort found in on contemporary passenger jets when he developed the micro-compact home.
“Airlines do compact spaces very well – everything is carefully designed and scaled,” says the British architect, who has lived in his own compact home two nights a week in Munich while lecturing at the Technical University there.
“It's about calmness, indirect lighting and neutral colours. There’s no pressure to fill the space; you can personalise it with just a postcard. You actually feel less lonely living in one of these than you would in a large apartment alone.”
Apart from this custom version, another variation on the standard m-ch that has been developed is a ‘tree’ of units for building vertically when land is at a premium.
The quoted price for a single standard unit and frame is 38,000 euros but that does not include delivery, installation, connection to services, consultant’s fees or taxes. So, depending on site conditions, you are looking at paying around 50,000 euros in total for one of these dainty digs.
For more information on the micro-compact home, please visit: http://www.microcompacthome.com/index.php
More units of the dwelling, abbreviated ‘m-ch’, have since been set up in the Netherlands, the UK and the USA, with the 16th – aptly named m-ch 016 – recently installed at a spectacular site in Brissago, Switzerland overlooking Lake Maggiore.
The condensed home was bought by private clients to place on their farmland so that their guests had a place to stay.
The new owners had requested that the standard micro home, a 2.6m cube, be enlarged by a metre to accommodate a full size double bed and space for an eight-seater dining table.
The modified champagne coloured dwelling was constructed using a light aluminium frame, with a total weight 1.8 tonnes.
In addition to the double bed – which lifts and lowers – the guest bed and dining and working space, the micro home has a toilet, shower and kitchen fitted with microwave, fridge and freezer.
The compact house, manufactured next to Salzburg in Austria, also has air conditioning and low energy LED lighting, along with beige leather surfaces with custom designed space for a sound system and coffee machine.
Please click http://vimeo.com/44247581 for a video of the micro home being flown in by helicopter
The land where this bespoke m-ch was put down had been prepared with four small foundation pads, with water, waste, electricity and internet all ready for immediate connection.
Horden, of London firm Horden Cherry Lee Architects, was inspired by the ergonomic design and compact comfort found in on contemporary passenger jets when he developed the micro-compact home.
“Airlines do compact spaces very well – everything is carefully designed and scaled,” says the British architect, who has lived in his own compact home two nights a week in Munich while lecturing at the Technical University there.
“It's about calmness, indirect lighting and neutral colours. There’s no pressure to fill the space; you can personalise it with just a postcard. You actually feel less lonely living in one of these than you would in a large apartment alone.”
Apart from this custom version, another variation on the standard m-ch that has been developed is a ‘tree’ of units for building vertically when land is at a premium.
The quoted price for a single standard unit and frame is 38,000 euros but that does not include delivery, installation, connection to services, consultant’s fees or taxes. So, depending on site conditions, you are looking at paying around 50,000 euros in total for one of these dainty digs.
For more information on the micro-compact home, please visit: http://www.microcompacthome.com/index.php