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

Anderson, Kubrick and Tarantino's Directing Styles As Seen by Kogonada.

Kogonada is a filmmaker and regular contributor to Sight & Sound. His projects have been featured on NPR, The Atlantic, Canal+ and Der Spiegel, and have screened internationally. He was born in Seoul, Korea.

His videos posted on Vimeo are almost always “Staff Picks’ and that’s because they are both informative and entertaining for film buffs as well as the general public.

I’m sharing with you three of his projects that are visual compilations from the work of directors Wes Anderson, Stanley Kubrick and Quentin Tarantino. Each focuses on a central stylistic component of their directing. Wes Anderson’s beautiful symmetry, Stanley Kubrick’s one point perspective and Tarantino’s worm’s eye view.

Wes Anderson "Centered":


Stanley Kubrick “One Point Perspective”:


Quentin Tarantino “From Below”:


See more of his interesting projects here
follow him on twitter at twitter.com/kogonada
or on Vimeo at vimeo.com/kogonada

High Tech Desk With High Price Tag Has High Hopes: The Stir Kinetic Desk

Many of us spend a good portion of our waking hours at desks, using computers and other devices to communicate and collaborate with the world around us. The folks at Stir felt that there was an incredible opportunity to re-imagine the desk as something powerful, life-changing and even lovable and that's how they came up with the pricey $3,890 Stir Kinetic Desk.



The people behind Stir are from places you’ve heard of: Apple, Disney, and IDEO to name a few. This includes industrial designers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, software developers, user-interface designers, marketers, media folks, and a whole bunch of smart business creators.

In recent news Stir has secured $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by Vegas TechFund and Zach Ware. Josh Makower, John R. Woodard, Richard Klein, and other Apple alumni also contributed to the round, according to TechCrunch.

The startup will use the new capital for the expansion of its production and distribution. It will also develop more ways to increase the functionality of the kinetic desk, the report added.

So what makes an almost $4000 desk a worthwhile investment?



Here's how it works:
The Stir Kinetic Desk is driven by software, and adapts to your work style. It knows when you arrive, and tracks standing time and extra calories burned.


The Stir Kinetic Desk also learns from your patterns and preferences. In active mode, the Whisperbreath feature gently moves the desk up and down one inch, inviting you to change position. It’s a gentle, tactile reminder to breathe deeply and change things up. The desk learns when it’s best to remind you, so that being more active is effortless.



Beneath the desk’s sleek exterior, sophisticated electronics learn users’ patterns and preferences and coordinate the desk functions with user goals. A presence sensor identifies when a user is at the desk so that calorie burn and percent-standing metrics are accurate. A database tracks each user’s goals and progress and automatically invites movement at appropriate times. The “active mode” switch on the front of the desk turns on and off reminders. A color display with a touch-sensitive interface provides user interaction and feedback.



The user interacts with the desk through a 4.3-inch color LCD touchscreen (approx. 2” x 3.5”). A user can command and control the desk with gestures through the simple touch-sensitive interface.



Data on progress and history are provided through a series of graphical and text-based data visualization tools. These tools allow a user to be in touch with fitness progress toward individual fitness and health goals each day, week, or longer.



Working at a desk also means connecting to power sources and accessory devices. The Stir Kinetic Desk is equipped with bluetooth and wi-fi hardware and has built-in ports for both AC and USB power. Your desk will be neat, clean, and free of pesky cords that can distract you from being inspired or anchor you in a sitting position.



The Stir Kinetic Desk has a set of proprietary algorithms and custom interfaces to allow the desk to sense, learn, and adapt to the needs of each individual user. The firmware also tracks usage and remembers data and preferences.

Health and Wellness
Stir's surveys indicate that less than 30% of other sit/stand workstations successfully engage their owners and deliver the full health and wellness benefits of sitting less. They are either too hard to use, disrupt other worktop equipment, or simply get left in one position for too long because you’re thinking about something else. The Stir Kinetic Desk was created to eliminate these barriers.

People around the world are studying the ill effects of what is now being referred to as the "sitting disease" and below are a few examples:

• ”Sitting is the smoking of our generation.“ - Harvard Business Review

• Each 8-hour day sitting can cut 2.5 hours off of life expectancy. - British Journal of Sports Medicine reference in NYT

• ”When you sit for an extended period of time, your body starts to shut down at the metabolic level.“ - Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri (Women's Health: Your Body's Biggest Enemy - The dangers of living a sedentary life)

• 50-minute daily productivity improvement with sit/stand - Miami University Study

Detailed Technical Specifications*


• Dimensions
Top Dimensions: 58.5” x 29.5” x 3.5”
• Adjustable height:
Approximately 25” – 51”, electrically actuated
• Weight: ~150 lbs.
• Dynamic load capacity: 75 lbs.
• Static load capacity 200 lbs.
• Capacitive Touchscreen input: color 4.3” screen
• Power ports: 8 AC & 4 USB
Two (2) power ports at back corners of desk, with 4 AC and 2 USB each
Each port compartment is 12” x 8.5” x 2.5” and can be used to hide or store cables or other power equipment

Materials and Colors:


• Desktop is a hardwood core with a variety of premium finishes including hardwood and hard-coated polymer options
• Power port covers are powder coated metal, hinged in coordinated colors
• Desk legs are powder-coated metal, available in coordinated colors
• Desk underside is lacquered high density fiberboard, available in 4 colors
Green: Pantone 361C
Ultramarine: Pantone 2728C
Crimson: Pantone 200C
Charcoal: Pantone 426C
Electronics
• Line Voltage: 100-120V AC
• Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz, single phase
• Operating Temperature: 50° to 85° F (10° to 29° C)
• Relative Humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing

Simple assembly required including attaching legs with bolts and attaching the middle underside panel.



* Specifications subject to change. Product includes wifi and bluetooth hardware. Software to use these features has not yet been developed. Wifi and bluetooth features will not be enabled initially and the timing for offering any additional features using wireless communication functions will be at Stir's sole discretion, and with terms of use to be determined by Stir. User presence sensing accuracy can be impacted by some environmental factors; 100% accuracy not guaranteed. Stir desktops are made from natural hardwoods and are hand crafted and finished and therefore may have irregularities in the surface and finish.

Order the Stir Kinetic Desk here

Visit Stir for more information

Artist Decorated Surfboard Auction Benefits Waves For Water.

With only five days left to bid, Juxtapoz Magazine, California-based shop UNIV and San Francisco's Chandran Gallery's benefit auction for Waves For Water feature 19 uniquely decorated surfboards by various and respected artists. Waves for Water is an organization on the ground in the Philippines, mobilizing an urgent clean water disaster relief initiative in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Here's a look at all the boards presently up for auction:


Participating artists include CR Stecyk III, Geoff McFetridge, Richard Colman, Jeremy Fish, Lucy McLauchlan, Tim Biskup, Cleon Peterson, Monica Canilao, Andrew Schoultz, Swampy, Tahiti Pehrson, Ty Williams, Jason Jägel, Mel Kadel, Travis Millard, Michael Torquato deNicola, Jared Swilley of the Black Lips, Brazilian artist Ale Jordao.

As part of the special benefit and auction, a one-night exhibition will be hosted on Saturday, March 29, at T.F.R. Gallery in Leucadia, California to celebrate the creation of the boards, and to give an opportunity for final bids on the boards at the gallery.

Dimensions and details about all the boards are available at the auction site. Bid here