Enclosed Open House – Singapore
East Coast Singapore  –  Wallpaper Architecture + Design Year built:   2011 I confess that I first visited Singapore way back in 1974.  It was a vibrant, colourful, very Asian city.  I tramped over most of the island for a fortnight and loved it. It’s changed.  A lot! When I first viewed this home, I […]
Small Home in Horinouchi
‘House in Horinouchi’  –  Suginami, Tokyo   MIZUISHI Architect Atelier site area: 52.14 m2 building area: 29.07 m2 total floor area: 55.24 m2 Most of us would have difficulty visualizing what a 52m2 (570sq ft) building lot looks like.  Think 7 metres x 7 metres (22′ x 22′).  Now turn it into a triangle, add some building code challenges and […]
The Nest
Onomichi City, Hiroshima Japan  –  UID Architects Lot size:   362 m2 (3,909 sq. ft.) Built area:   121 m2 (1,306 sq. ft.) Photography by:   Hiroshi Ueda It is always wonderful to see a truly unique design. Even the name, ‘The Nest’ is so appropriate. If you look closely, you will see that there are […]
Daylight House – looking to the sky
Yokohama Kanagawa JAPANÂ Â – Â Takeshi Hosaka Architects Year: Â 2012 Built area: Â 85 m2 Â (920 sq ft) We think this home is an elegant solution to a common problem in many crowded cities – a bad outlook… in fact, an outright ugly outlook! Â The lot is surrounded by high density housing so any conventional windows would […]
Amida House – Interesting on many levels
Gotenba, Shizuoka  Japan  –  Kochi Architect’s Studio Built area:   115.5 m2  (1,247 sq. ft.) Year Built:   2011 Photography:    Daici Ano This is one of the more ‘out there’ designs we have come across.  There are nine distinct levels in this small home.  While our initial reaction was muted, our enthusiasm grew as we read […]
The Hackney Gingerbread House
Hackney  London  –  Laura Dewe Mathews Built:   2012 Area:   80 m2  (864 sq. ft.) It’s always interesting seeing what an architect designs and builds for themselves.  In this instance, it’s a one bed, home built on the site of, and using some of the structure of, an old box factory. The […]
HABODE
Anywhere you choose –  Rod Gibson/Habode Built Area:   80 m2 + decks  (864 sq.ft. + decks) The New Zealand built HABODE can be shipped anywhere in the world, trucked to site, ‘unfolded’ and be habitable in just two days.  It is designed and built to withstand extreme weather conditions and meets and exceeds […]
Roll It
Karlsruhe, Germany –Â University of Karlsruhe Could you live in a cylinder? This is the ultimate experiment in low-cost housing. Called ‘Roll it’, it was designed and built by collaborative teams at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany. Comprising of three independent cylinders, the unit is a complete dwelling with a bed/sitting/study area, an exercise ‘room’ […]
Toronto’s Tiniest Home
Toronto Canada Year Built: Â Â 1912 Built Area: Â Â 300 sq. ft. (27.8 m2) At just over 7 feet wide (2.2m), this must be one of the narrowest fixed homes in the developed world. Â It also ranks as one of the smallest we’ve come across, excluding those built on trailers. The home was built […]
Tokyo Tight
Tokyo, Japan  –  Unemori Architects Site Area:   34.27 m2  (370 sq. ft.) Building Envelope:   17.47 m2  (188 sq. ft.) Built Area:   67.34 m2  (727 sq. ft.) Photography: Unemori Architects Japan truly is the land of innovation when it comes to housing. Its cities are crowded, land is limited and if […]