Small Space Apartment: Optibo

In May I had two posts about Sandy Lam’s Spaceless balcony furniture. It is a system of furniture that collapses into the space beneath it so that you can use the space for a variety of purposes. I was thinking that it reminded me of something I had seen before. When I did some digging, I found it.

Although not exactly the same Optibo is a similar concept. Optibo is the product of Swedish ingenuity I think it’s a bit like a Swiss Army Knife apartment. Although Optibo has been around for several years, I thought it would be relevant here.

Optibo was a research project on future housing and multifunction furniture. The furniture in the apartment lowers into the floor via hydraulic stage equipment. Yes its hydraulics for your couch, well not exactly. The project basically created a dwelling in a 25 square meter apartment. By concealing furniture in the floor it created a space that could transform itself thereby utilizing the space very efficiently.

As far as I can tell, they are not selling the concept yet, but it is a very noteworthy small space.

Small Space Prefab: Bungalow in a Box

We are big fans of prefab here at Small Space Living. And after having spent my first weekend of the summer at the cottage, I am thinking of get-a-ways.

Bungalow in a Box builds small ready to assemble Bungalow kits. While not exactly a entirely pre-built structure like many of the prefab projects we have covered, it has a lot of promise.

You assemble the Bungalow in a Box in place on your foundation in one or two days. Now I’m thinking that perhaps Norm Abram would be able to have one up by lunch, but it may take a lesser carpenter slightly longer. The kit does seem to be set up so anyone with moderate skill could build one.

Bungalow in a Box kits are the full finished exterior of the structure allowing you the ability to customize the interior. The kits are perfect for studios, backyard offices and weekend get-a-ways. The best part is the price tag — starting at $13,700 for the 12x16 foot model they should be accessible to most.

Small Space Prefab Italian Style: The Joshua Tree

The Italians have always been the cutting edge of design and architecture. So it stands to reason that their entries into the prefab market would be stylish and beautiful.

The Joshua Tree by Hanger Prefab Group definitely delivers a healthy dose of Italian Style. The Joshua Tree is a stunning steel panel covered prefab vacation home. The grey exterior is a stark contrast to the warm wood of the interior. The interior is constructed of pale wood reminiscent of a beach cottage.

The design is simple yet elegant and unique enough to set itself apart from other prefabs in its size category. Billed as a “mountain refuge” at the Milan Furniture Fair, the Joshua Tree would be a welcome addition to the prefab market stateside. The Joshua Tree is being marked by Holiday Homes Design.

I’m encouraged to see the international market producing spectacular prefabs. I will have more information on the Joshua Tree as soon as more English information becomes available. Via Dwell.

Holyoke Cabin: Update

Way back in January we had a post about Paul Stankey’s Holyoke Cabin. This amazing creation is a small cabin created joining two shipping containers. The resulting structure is striking.

Ready Made Magazine has a piece about the cabin in its March issue. There is not much new information about the project, but it got me thinking about it again.

I also found this photo set on Flicker with some new shots of the site and project.

And I know the rules “thou shall not covet thy neighbors cabin”, but Paul is not really my neighbor so I guess that makes it ok.

Toxic Katrina Trailers

Today the CDC has reported that the air inside the trailers used to house displaced Hurricane Katrina victims contain toxic levels of formaldehyde. The levels inside the trailers can cause respiratory and other health problems.

Understanding fully the difficulties of housing such a large number of families — I’m I'm still left scratching my head. Hurricane Katrina hit the US in August of 2005. Why are people still living in trailers? This is baffling to me when there are a vast array of solutions to these housing dilemmas that are just not being utilized. Instead of adding to the chorus of voices criticizing the missteps of the past, I thought we would look at some of the options to improve the situation.

Brad Pitt and the Make it Right 9 project plans to build 150 homes in the lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. They are off to a great start with 78 of 150 homes financed. You can donate to this cause on the Make it Right website and remember it’s not a hand out, it’s a hand up. There are some great designer green homes going up in the 9th Ward. They are really quite innovative including being built on slightly elevated stilts to aid in future flood survival. Check them out.



I have touched on Katrina Cottages in a previous post, but they certainly warrant a more in-depth look here. The Katrina Cottage 1 at 308 square feet is far from being spacious. It is, however, a real permanent dwelling that can be built for $70,000. The cost of this original cottage is less than that of the toxic trailers. It was intended to be a very inexpensive, attainable structure that could be later attached to a larger home. The plan is a great solution to get people in homes and allow them the opportunity to add more space later. These cottages are also available in a verity of sizes from the original 308 square foot up to a fully accessible version at 1,182 square foot. I also like that you can buy the kits — some are just pre-cut lumber and others are panelized prefab structures or the plans. The best part is you can buy them at your local Lowe’s.

Holyoke Cabin

Paul Stankey, cofounder of hiveMODULAR has, with the help of his brother, begun the construction of a cabin. The Holyoke Cabin is situated on a 40-acre parcel originally purchased by his father and uncle and intended for hunting. Paul, his brother and their wives decided to build a weekend home on the property. The resulting structure is a fantastic example of recycling and green building. The two main anchors of the cabin’s structure are twenty-foot shipping containers. I have seen many examples of container structures, but there is something special about the good old-fashioned ingenuity and simplicity of this one. Constructed primarily by the two men, the resulting cabin is striking.

When the Holyoke Cabin is finished, it will have a 12v lighting system with a small array of solar cells and gas lighting for backup. They also intend to collect the rainwater to feed a cistern for a grey water system.

I will keep you posted as they update the project — I can’t wait to see how turns out.

Wired Prefab Spread

Rob Beschizza at WIRED has a nice article covering smaller modular dwellings. Some are newer designs with not much information available just yet, the rest have been around for a while now. I am constantly reminded by the high costs of these designs, although the Katrina Cottage is a reasonable entry at $35,000 for 308 square feet. Most are just insane. I am acutely aware of the design and technology involved in the production of these structuWired Prefab spread.res. But it just seems to me that most modular homes today are designed to be playgrounds for Architects; not affordable modern dwellings for the masses. There has to be some middle ground of great high-concept prefab structures that don’t cost double the dollars per square foot of conventional construction. Well I’ll keep looking, but for now enjoy the article but don’t faint when you see the prices.

The Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

Jay Schafer of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company has been living in small spaces for some time. Since 1997 he’s has been dwelling in the tiny homes his company produces. The smallest structure current available on the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company site is the 70 square foot Biensi. These dwellings are true marvels of efficiency. They use propane for cooking and heating with solar options available for an even more off-grid experience. The Lusby model looks amazingly spacious for 120 square feet. The more I see truly efficient small spaces the more I realize how little is needed to live comfortably.

The miniHome

The miniHome is a unique little structure. It is somewhere between ultra hip prefab home and a doublewide. This diminutive dwelling really is an amazing feet of design and architecture. The miniHome integrates all the newest in sustainable home technology in one clean ready to live in structure. It has passive solar panels, solar panels, led lighting and composting toilets. All this and it is a travel trailer although not intended for continual travel placing and relocating it are quite simple tasks. All and all it is a well laid out and comfortable looking space for its mere 340 square feet. It has one of the most workable kitchens I have seen in similarly sized dwellings.

Designers Andy Thomson and Dan Hall and Northlander Industries are ramping up a production run to begin in the spring of 2008. So often we see stunning designs that are just that designs that never go into real production. Well the miniHouse is available now so if you are interested check it out.

miniHome
Check out the miniHome on HGTV.