Community | July 12, 2008 | 38 comments

Micro-compact green homes: the future for young people?

source: http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/homes/story/0,,2290216,00.html

Image
LindseyIndigo
Architect Richard Horden has designed a village of seven tiny, prefabricated homes, called "m-ch" (micro-compact home), for students at the University of Munich, the Guardian reports.

And now the homes are now heading to the UK - the Irwell Valley Housing Association is building six in Manchester to provide temporary accommodation for key workers, and a private client in London has made a planning application to build one on their land. And one is about to go on show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as part of an exhibition on contemporary living.

Each m-ch is just 2.6m sq - the size of an average living room - but has two pull-down beds, toilet (with pull-across screen), shower, table with seating for four, bookshelves and a kitchen area with sink, two-ring cooking hob, microwave, fridge, freezer and cupboards.

The homes are energy efficient, too. "Our aim is to be carbon neutral, using solar panels," says Horden, a partner at UK practice Horden Cherry Lee architects. "With all the fixed lights on, you are using the same energy as a single 80w bulb."

Each unit costs around £26,000.

As the credit crunch hits, could this be a solution for young people without the capital to buy their own standard-size home? Could live in a mirco-compact home like this? And if so, where the bloody hell would you put it?
  1. groups:
    Community,   News and Politics,   Green,   Earth and Science,   1 more
  2. tags:
    News,  News and Politics,  Green,  Earth and Science,  9 more
  3.     
    |

38 comments // Micro-compact green homes: the future for young people?

  • Shway
    • 0
      Shway  

    • With two beds you better really like your room mate.
      This is the sort of thing I would pay to live in with out a problem. The solar power makes it even more tempting.

    • 3 years ago
  • shroomfairy
  • Kati_kat
    • 0
      Kati_kat  

    • Bit expensive, but its cool reminds me of a yurt. Yurts rock, they need to make stuff like this so that its cheap and if it blows over you just build another one.

    • 3 years ago
  • jhydo
  • jjmaster
    • 0
      jjmaster  

    • Well, what if that becomes the future for the lower income people, while the rich live in their ivory towers? It wouldn't be so great then, would it? I agree with Ricky84... Is it even safe for camping in? I like the eco-friendly part... Beats the heck out of the formaldehyde ridden trailers sent to Katrina vicims!

    • 3 years ago
  • justin1447
    • 0
      justin1447  

    • As with all other innovations, it's not perfect (i.e. hurricane resistance, etc.) but it's a start.

      But living in California, I think it would be perfect. And can you imagine being next to a river or a coast and seeing a village of these cubes? So cute! =]]

    • 3 years ago
  • Susieee
  • kewal91
  • doni83
    • 0
      doni83  

    • Awesome! Minimalism at its best! These are just brilliant; minimalist, energy and space efficient, and pre-fabricated modular to keep production waste to a minimum as well. Only they need to reduce cost as well as sacrificing too much space.

    • 3 years ago
  • Dmitri_Molotov
  • csmonut
    • 0
      csmonut  

    • Like mransom, I haven't seen much in the way of a positive feed from mrburns. he keeps turning up with his negative respnses.
      He must be a very unhappy person.
      BTW, like the thought of a small, efficient house. Good post.

    • 3 years ago
  • mrburns
    • 0
      mrburns  

    • 24 french

      I guess that's saline, huh?

      God bless big oil
      God bless america and my big recliner that won't fit in that jail cell

    • 3 years ago
  • Stradius
  • 24French
    • 0
      24French  

    • These are really cute cube houses! Love the tiny deck too! Would they really be bandied about by weather conditions or lie low and huddle like dice safe through the storm? Big houses are lightning/ earthquake/ tornado targets too. And if those cubes could float, they might have the edge.

      P.S. Mr. Burns...you just don't see "God bless big oil" too much anymore. It's a nostalgia that almost brings tears to the eyes.

    • 3 years ago
  • mrburns
    • 0
      mrburns  

    • I see why Ikea is such a big hit in Europre.. But really folks your hypocracy is killing me.

      If it has anything to do with peace, al gore, conservation, smaller is better, then it must be a hit with wacko-s.

      Tell that to the Lazy Katrina sponges in their tin cans. I also see why all of my international co-workers want to live in america after thier two year work visa is up, because they have to go back to crap like that.

      But if you wacko-s do buy one of those things, call me up after a day of eating bean and cheese tacos and I'll paint your walls brown for you.

      Oh yea, how dare they charge so much for that, that is greedy captialism!

      GOD BLESS MY 2400 sq/ft house
      God bless big oil

    • 3 years ago
  • mransom
    • 0
      mransom  
    • mrburns:

      I have yet to see a coherent response of yours on current.

      And how dare you call Katrina victims "lazy sponges." I'll bet you anything, that if your house was blown away, you'd be in deep shit, too.

    • 3 years ago
  • mrburns
  • bishopobispo
    • 0
      bishopobispo  

    • these things wouldn't look so pretty in the midwest... as tornadoes ripped through them and their inhabitants. maybe they should sell basement add-ons as well.

    • 3 years ago
  • mransom
    • 0
      mransom  

    • This is so cool. After I get out of architecture school, I plan to build something similar to this, for areas stricken with poverty.

      This is the future of architecture; not 20,000 square foot mcmansions.

    • 3 years ago
  • damnneargenius
  • Ricky84
    • 0
      Ricky84  

    • Wow if I stretched out on the floor of that thing I would span the entire length! In all seriousness though as a Floridian I’ll pass. A two ton timber frame structure coated with aluminum is not going to survive a hurricane or a tornado. Plus I don’t think a metal box is not the ideal place to ride out a thunder storm, especially in the lighting capital of the world.

      I’m going to wait for this company to embrace the solid wall system before I jump on board. By the way M-ch is a horrible name, what were they thinking?

    • 3 years ago
  • neckfire
    • 0
      neckfire  
    • Ricky84:

      If lightning hit that thing I'm pretty sure it would pass right through and the ground would take the hit not the house or it's inhabitants. Electricity is weird.

    • 3 years ago
  • Ricky84
    • 0
      Ricky84  
    • Ricky84:

      It’s possible but I wouldn’t stake my life on it. Lighting does travel the path of least resistance but a prefabricated home with a metallic exterior and a lot of metallic fixtures are definitely going to conduct a charge. In that situation lighting doesn’t even have to direcly strike your m-ch for you to get a shock.

      Take the picture for instance. There is a tree right next to that thing. So if lighting strikes that tree (since its tall) it’ll probably jump from it to the house considering metal conducts electricity much better than wood.

      I really like the idea of the M-ch though! It’s just not that safe in a sub-tropical environment. For it to work it needs to actually rest on a foundation, have some sort of lighting rod, a solid fiber mesh concrete wall and hurricane proof shutters.

    • 3 years ago
  • pissedoffinarkansas
    • 0
      pissedoffinarkansas  

    • At least it's an original idea.I have to agree with northstar13 though.They don't look like they are going to stand up to a stiff wind much less a tornado or hurricane.

      Like the solar panels though!

    • 3 years ago
  • SilenceNoMore
  • RudyRudell
    • 0
      RudyRudell  

    • sooooo trailer parks that look like legos? im down with it. trailer parks have a bad name anyways they seem like a neat idea but in practice eh.

    • 3 years ago
  • mrburns
  • kewal91
    • 0
      kewal91  
    • RudyRudell:

      kinda... yeah... i mean i see where both of you come from.. but trailer parks do have the perception of low-class "barabaric" almost kind of people... may be true or not... its just a perception

    • 3 years ago
  • saverio
  • thekingbeyond
  • twodee
  • northstar13
    • 0
      northstar13  

    • how well do think one of these would stand up to a tornado/hurricane? reminds me of the "3 little pigs" i'm gonna huff and puff and blow your house down!

    • 3 years ago
  • 1percent
    • 0
      1percent  

    • This makes far more sense than the houses being built here in the U.S.

      I like the idea that they are solar powered. If only they could get it to be completely independent of all city hookups (sewer,water,gas), this would make it much more marketable here in the states.

      As well, the price is definitely within reach for most.

      I'll be buying one once they become available here in the U.S.

      Great post!

    • 3 years ago
  • stone246
  • JanaPokana
  • phillyharper
    • 0
      phillyharper  
    • Image

    • I think they're pretty cool the one pictured is a bit lonely. They need to make little communities of them near rivers. That would make me buy one.

    • 3 years ago
  • ILiveonaClock
more from Community:
from the community

top videos