COMPILED BY Gina Dionisio PHOTOS César Béjar Studio; Warren Heath/Bureaux; Ioanna Fotiadou; Francesca Perani; Ivo Tavares Studio; David Straight
Small-scale architecture that packs a BIG punch.
In the world of architecture, small spaces can have a surprisingly big impact. These micro homes demonstrate how careful design and efficient use of space can create distinctive and practical living environments. By incorporating inventive storage solutions, natural light, and multi-purpose areas, these compact dwellings provide a sustainable and stylish response to the demands of modern urban living.
Casa en tres Ríos
This small home in Culiacán on Mexico’s Pacific coast is, as its creators put it, “willing to be the simplest household in the neighbourhood”. Designed by architects César Béjar Studio, the narrow building is squeezed between two equally design-led properties, and represents an interesting response to its neighbours.
Externally, it’s simple but bold, offering stark contrast to the colour, shape and texture of its fussier neighbours. Its solid mass appears to float between the adjoining walls, as if trying to find lightness in its condition of being heavy – but it also visually retracts to be slightly less visible and more private.
Read the full story on Casa en tres Ríos.
Bloemfontein Home
Set in a burgeoning grove of indigenous Karee trees on the outskirts of Bloemfontein, Philip and Lisa Nel’s home anticipated the current trend of prefabricated dwellings by a decade. Back in 2009, having just renovated and sold a house, Philip finally took the plunge and built the prefabricated small dwelling he’d had in mind for a while. A piece of property adjacent to his parents’ home on the western edge of the city was the chosen site – and 12 years later, it’s where the couple still live.
Originally just 45m2 in size and manufactured in three sections that fit neatly between two of his beloved karee trees, the design for Philip’s own home became the basis for a design and construction business, Inizio Homes – a company that offers a turnkey solution including design, fabrication, project management and construction. The Nels’ prototype house had garnered local publicity from the start: it was published in ArchSA, the journal of the South African Institute of Architects, in 2009, while Inizio Homes was nominated for VISI’s emerging designer award in 2012.
Read the full story Bloemfontein home.
Asprolithos Villa
Constructed by locally sourced stone, Asprolithos Villa – designed by Stella Papazoglou and Louisa Varelidi of Polisgram Architects – reflects the many facets of Greek design and architecture. The home was designed completely from scratch on an empty plot on the side of the mountain.
Situated in a classic greek landscape, the property boasts sea and mountain views with a surrounding brushwood terrain. The location played a vital role in the design of the space so that it would work in conjunction with the landscape.
Read the full story on Asprolithos Villa.
Italian Urban Cabin
The space was originally used as a bicycle storage shed. The cabin is 25 square meters and is a long and narrow space. The small cabin has two main areas – the living rooms and combined kitchen and bedroom as well as a separate bathroom.
The living area includes a 7m long bench for seating and storage underneath, while also unfolding into two single beds and allowing the remainder of the home to be split into a stylish bathroom.
Read the full story on this Italian Urban Cabin.
Moinho de Vento
Tucked neatly between the traditional terraced homes in the centre of Portugal’s Ponta Delgada, the crisp white façade of Moinho de Vento – the Windmill House – may look at one with its surroundings, but it’s what lies behind the front door that really sets this tiny home apart from its neighbours.
Built on a skinny 4.20sqm-wide infill, BOX arquitectos wanted to play with volume, depth and light to help create a sense of space within the confines of such a small plot. They divided Moinho de Vento into two sections with a central garden courtyard acting as the connecting element between them.
Read the full story on Moinho de Vento.
Tom’s House
Set in the post-card surroundings of Queenstown, New Zealand, the brief sought something small and characterful with lots of light and frames through which to savour pause-worthy views. The result is an optimisation of the 156 sqm plot that realises a home filled with hidden storage and niche spaces that can be converted into sleeping or sitting areas.
Outside, the built form is inspired by the rural shed with coloursteel skin wrapping covering the walls and roof. A modern abstracted interpretation sees a gable run across the diagonal to create dynamic elevations that appear in dialogue with the towering mountains. The asymmetrical ridgeline slopes down, tracing the contour of the land and creating variation in internal spatial volumes.
Read the full story on Tom’s House.
ANA House
The vibrant interior of this suburban Tokyo home, dubbed ANA House, showcases a patchwork design incorporating seven distinct colours, masterfully crafted by Kochi Architect’s Studio. This innovative approach breathes new life into the space, transforming it into a dynamic and visually stimulating environment.
Kochi Architect’s Studio used asymmetrical plywood panels to separate different areas with colourful accents. This approach not only defines the spaces but also adds an element of surprise, making each room unique. The creative use of colour and form introduces new perspectives throughout the small home, creating a sense of openness beyond its actual size.
Read the full story on ANA House.
Contemporary Portuguese Fisherman’s Cabin
Smart design by architect Pedro Henrique puts a contemporary spin on the historical “Palheiro”, a traditional Portuguese fisherman home. Set in the northern coastal town of Esmoriz, the dwellings were first developed in the early 19th century to provide seaside housing for inhabitants working at sea.
Pedro pays homage to the vernacular architecture of the original designs in his reinterpretation of these houses that have scattered the shoreline for centuries. Using concrete as the core of the home, the traditional use of wood is brought into the design by using timber slats that cover the building facades. Marrying form and function, the slats also create a lightweight screening, creating shade and enhancing privacy for residents. At night, the slats create a glowing effect emitting from inside the house, radiating light outwards through the vertical gaps.
Read the full story on this contemporary Portuguese fisherman’s cabin.
Compact Pretoria Home
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s famous Dutch dictum, “less is more” refers to the removal of inessential material from architectural artefacts and details – but we could read it more literally. Should we do so, one important way in which less can be more has to do with the concept of density. Decrease the size of something without removing material, and its density increases. What you lose in breadth, you could gain in richness, texture and control.
Such is the case with Pretoria Bungalow, a jewellery box of a house tucked away in the recently densified interior of a suburban city block. The designation “bungalow” was carefully chosen to reflect the home’s balance between the discipline and frugality of dense living, and the relative freedom afforded by a freestanding form. Cobus Bothma of Laboratorium Architects – who is the architect, owner and occupant of the house – designed it while living in a penthouse apartment in Sunnyside, the city’s most densely populated, high-rise residential neighbourhood. And the resulting dwelling and garden represent a complex mediation between the exhilaration of urban living and the relative tranquillity and isolation of the suburbs.
Read the full story on this compact Pretoria Home.
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