The Micro Compact Home Is Proof That Good Things Come In Small Packages

The micro compact home is a high quality compact dwelling for one or two people. Its neat dimensions of a 2.66m cube adapt it to a variety of sites and circumstances, and its functioning sleeping, working/dining, cooking and bath spaces make it suitable for everyday use.




The m-ch is the outcome of a research project at Technical University Munich to design a 2.6m cube dwelling. The project was initiated by Prof. Richard Horden with his team of students and assistants in 2001 and as of 2011, there have been over 15 built and installed.



The team of researchers and designers based in London and at the Technical University in Munich developed the m-ch as an answer to an increasing demand for short stay living accommodation for students, business people, sports and leisure use and for weekenders. The m-ch, now in use and available throughout Europe, combines techniques for high quality compact 'living' spaces deployed in aircraft, yachts, cars, and micro apartments. Its design has been informed by the classic scale and order of a Japanese teahouse, combined with advanced concepts and technologies. Living in an m-ch means focusing on the essential - less is more. The use of progressive materials complements the sleek design. Quality of design, touch and use are the key objectives for the micro compact home team for 'short stay smart living'.



The Micro-compact Home may be arranged as a single unit raised above the ground on a light aluminium frame and placed in a garden for private use. its compact dimensions make it easily integrated with shrubs and trees.

Exterior:


Interior:



Inside the m-ch features:
• Two compact double beds, each measuring 198cm x 107cm, with covered cushions.
• Storage space for bedding and cleaning equipment.
• Sliding table measuring 105cm x 65cm, for dining for up to five people.
• Flat screen television in the living/dining space
• Shower and toilet cubicle
• Kitchen area fitted with electrical points and featuring a double hob, sink and extending tap, microwave, fridge and freezer units, three compartment waste unit, storage shelves, cutlery drawers with gentle return sprung slides and double level work surfaces.
• Air conditioning, water heating, fire alarm and smoke detectors.
• Thermostat controlled ducted warm air heating or electric under floor are available alternatives.

Micro-compact Home may be grouped in horizontal or vertical arrangements in compact clusters, or form larger villages for social or student accommodation or for short-stay business or leisure uses.

The 02 Student Village:

above: The o2 Student Village in Munch is a village of seven micro-compact homes, sponsored by international telecoms company O2 Germany, was built at the Technical University Munich. Each 2.65m cube features high technology, including broadband and standard internet links a plasma screen and high quality kitchen and bathroom appliances, some provided by co-sponsors, Siemens.

Spin-offs include the Tree Village, the Golden Cube, low e-home and snowboard village, all of which demonstrate how the basic concept can be adapted for a number of uses, environments and cultures.

technical specifications


The m-ch has a timber frame structure with anodised or polyester powder coated aluminium external cladding finishes, insulated with polyurethane foam and fitted with aluminium frame double glazed windows and front door with security double lock; graphics can be applied for sponsors, exhibition and business use.



The m-ch measures 266cm x 266cm x 266cm. The ceiling height is 198cm and the door width is 60cm.

Price is 38,000 EUR (that's $52,405.80 USD)

The quoted price is for a single unit and frame and does not include delivery, installation and connection to services, consultant’s fees and taxes. Subject to site conditions the inclusive guide price is 50,000-90,000 EUR depending on the landscape fees and infrastructure.

In special cases such as helicopter delivery an aluminium frame is used. Approximately 30% of the weight of a standard micro home (2.2 tons approx. the same as a Bentley Continental) is plywood and timber framing.



While the micro homes are being assembled, the site is prepared with services, simple pad foundations, pathways and planting. Immediately before truck delivery of the 2.6m cube the aluminium subframe is installed on site and the micro home is usually lifted into place using a portable crane which minimizes damage to the landscape.



As of January 2011 there have been fifteen micro compact homes built. Installations have been made for The Museum of Modern Art in New York, UBS Bank in Zurich Switzerland, O2 Telecom in Germany and for various private clients with sites overlooking Lake Zurich and now planned for Lake Maggiore near Ascona and at Millbrook in New York State.

Wanna buy one?
m-ch units are available to purchase for delivery to geographical Europe at a guide price of EUR 38,000 (subject to contract). This price includes all interior fittings. Subject to site conditions, the price excludes delivery, installation, connection to services, consultant’s fees and taxes.

The m-ch is delivered from their production center in Austria and they advise an average of 8-10 weeks delivery from the date of order.

All sales inquiries to:
Emma Masip-Font
micro compact home ltd
tel 00 44 [0]20 7495 4119
email: info@microcompacthome.com

m-ch ltd.
micro-compact home ltd. is managed by director, Prof. Richard Horden, who is also chairman of the architectural practice in London, Horden Cherry Lee Architects.

For complete credits of everyone involved in the project, research, design and production, go here.

images from mch, Horden Cherry Lee Architects, and Archiexpo

A Tiny But Terrific Prefab Home In Brazil by Architect Alex Nogueira

House 12.20 in Campo Grande, Brazil by Alex Nogueira







Copy is courtesy of the architect:
In a 9-meter-long (29.5') and 5-meter-wide (16.4') rectangular space, totaling 45 square meters (about 148 square feet), the orthogonality and the rigidity of the architectural environment create a contrast with the light and stripped atmosphere brought by the colors, by the furniture, by some of the finishes, and by the generous opening which faces the garden.



In this space there are, almost in a symbiotic way, the room, the office, the kitchen, the bedroom, and the hall, where the furniture is the keystone in both aesthetic and functional harmony of this multiple environment. The bathroom is the most conventional setting and it divides the hydraulic wall with the kitchen, but it is turned to the room, privileging this more intimate access.



Generally speaking, the homogeneity of the internal space is an attempt of dialogue with the homogeneity of the external space, the green plane composed by the hearty garden. In this search, both the large sliding glass door and outside deck are responsible for integrating and transporting the external space to the internal one, and vice versa.



The structural system favors the natural look of its different elements. So, there are together, in a mixed system, reinforced concrete with metal profiles. In other words, a metal frame supported by concrete bases, which maintains the construction away from the ground, gives it a certain lightness and a better relationship with the hot weather of the region.



On the front facade, a large layout of horizontal metal louvers not only provides the necessary sun protection but also a uniform, closed, and hermetic aesthetic, in full contrast to the back facade, fully transparent and open. This duality can be understood as a reflection a personality: serious at first, and more open in intimacy.






Exploring a predictable, rigid, and formal geometric body, there was a search for lightness, surprise, and certain enchantment, whether with the yellow sculpture that rests in the garden (made with leftovers of the type "I" metal profiles), whether with the contrasts between the solid wall of exposed concrete and the floating metal wall, whether in the mixture of very different materials such as the simple apparent clay brick (external floors), the transparent glass, corrugated metal closure, unpolished marble, yellow wall, or even crude and poorly finished concrete... Even though it is a small construction, the search was for an architectural experience capable of harboring the infinity of feelings.

Principal Architect: Alex Nogueira
Project Details:
• Year 2009
• Work started in 2010
• Work finished in 2013
• Plot (m²) 720
• Total area (m²) 45
• Status Completed works
• Type: Modular/Prefabricated housing /

Photos © André Barbosa

Two Design Firms Collaborate To Bring Us The Bunkie Pre-fab Home.

The Vision:
The Bunkie is like a cool, modern playhouse for grown-ups. The prefab structure is a collaborative effort between industrial design firm 608 Design and architectural design firm BLDG Workshop. The two companies share an intense admiration for the other's work and an affinity for seeking new answers to old problems and processes. In the case of the Bunkie, this involves reduced impact materials and adopting CNC detailing from furniture manufacturing for use in pre-fab construction.





The Plan
The need for this architectural type is easily identified, re-born to function more beautifully with regards to its purpose and aesthetics. By maintaining a transparent view of the site, the Bunkie is integrated into the landscape. Its multi-use nature responds to both expanding families and recreational applications via three operating modes: open, play and sleep.



The Bunkie Co.

images and information courtesy of 608 Design, BLDG Workshop and The Bunkie Co.