Our favourite examples of small-scale architecture originally featured in Phaidon’s Nanotecture: Tiny Built Things by Rebecca Roke
COMPILED BY Lindi Brownell Meiring
The Nanoarchitecture tome features an impressive collection of 300 small spaces, from cabins to tree houses – here are 10 of our favourite “little buildings”.
Sphere Houses
Architect / Designer: Free Spirit Spheres
Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
What: These treehouses form part of a private hotel.
Takasugi-an (A Tea House Built Too High)
Architect / Designer: Terunobu Fujimori
Location: Nagano Prefecture, Japan
What: Architect Terunobu Fujimori built this tea house for himself, a space smaller than 3m2, in between two chestnut trees.
Antoine
Architect / Designer: Bureau A
Location: Verbier, Switzerland
What: This wooden cabin with its rocky facade is designed to house one person.
Manifest Destiny!
Architect / Designer: Mark Reigelman and Jenny Chapman
Location: San Francisco, USA
What: This tiny 3.5-metre tall cabin, a collaborative project between architect Mark Reigelman and artist Jenny Chapman, sits 12 metres above the street on the facade of the Hotel Des Arts.
Glass House
Architect / Designer: Santambrogiomilano
Location: Milan, Italy
What: This three-storey house aims to connect the occupants to nature in the least intrusive way possible.
Read Nest
Architect / Designer: Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter
Location: Northern Zealand, Denmark
What: This 9.8m2 space was built as a holiday abode in which to read and relax.
The Shadow House
Architect / Designer: Michael Jantzen
Location: Missouri, USA
What: This installation is based on actual recorded shadows from a traditional cottage.
The Vigil
Architect / Designer: OH!SOM Architectes
Location: Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts, France
What: This space is used as a watchtower over the surrounding forest during the summer months.
Jeffry’s House
Architect / Designer: Emily Mannion and Thomas O’Brien
Location: County Donegal, Republic of Ireland
What: Made to be used – whether to climb on or simply take in the views – this flax thatch, larch and timber pavilion is collaboration between artist Emily Mannion and architect Thomas O’Brien.
Mirrored Tree House
Architect / Designer: Tham and Videgård Arkitektur
Location: Harads, Sweden
What: You’ll find a double bed, bathroom and lounge in this mirrored box, which forms part of an eco-hotel complex.
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