Microliving

A microliving or microapartment, also known as a microflat, is a one-room, self-contained

living space, usually purpose built, designed to accommodate a sitting space, sleeping space,
bathroom and kitchenette with 1432 square metres (50350 sq ft) In some cases, residents may
also have access to a communal kitchen, communal bathroom/shower, patio and roof garden.

several reasons for micro living:

1. People want to be in the middle of things. Even though downtown Des Moines, Iowa
might not be lower Manhattan, more Des Moinesians, particularly Millennial Des
Moinesians who are more likely to value experiences over stuff, are wanting to live in the
citys liveliest area (yes, there are micro-apartments going up in Des Moines). Those
lively areas tend to be more expensive. Micro-housing gets people into desirable parts of
town at a reasonable price-point.
2. Cars are taking a backseat. Similar to point #1, people are becoming more open to life
without car ownership. If you live near amenities, your work and have access to transit
options (car-shares, bike lanes, and public transit), why tether yourself to a few thousand
pounds of money-sucking, carbon-spewing steel? Accordingly, many municipalities are
warming to the idea of housing without (or with limited) parking allowances, which often
stand as a huge barrier to building high density housing like micro-apartments.
3. People dont need/want big places as much as they used to. People (Millennials in
particular) are delaying or not getting married like they did in years past. The dream of
the big place in the burbs is dying. People nowadays are just as likely to want a clean
home near all the action with a good wifi connection.
4. Micros makes inexpensive housing less expensive. This might be the biggest reason. Lets
say a citys average one-bedroom apartment costs $800 and a comparable micro-
apartment costs $500. For a renter not making much money and who only needs basic
accommodations, that extra $300 is a big plus.
5. Micros can be good for developers. Lets say that $800 apartment is 1000 sq ft and the
$500 one is 350 sq ft. All things being equal (construction costs, finishes,
etc), the developer will make roughly 56% more on a per sq ft basis on the micro. Its
 important to note that all things are not equal. Because the most expensive parts of
constructionnamely bathrooms and kitchensare the same for micro-units as they are for
conventional ones, construction costs can be significantly higher for micros. Add in
transforming furniture and other built-ins and the math gets worse from a developers
perspective. Nonetheless, the higher dollar per sq ft, even factoring above considerations,
can make micros an attractive investment.

Characteristics

1. The microapartments are often designed for futons, or with pull-down beds, folding desks
and tables, and extra-small or hidden appliances. Gary Chang, an architect in Hong Kong, has
designed a large 32-square-metre (344 sq ft) microapartment with sliding walls attached to
tracks on the ceiling. By moving the walls around, and using built-in folding furniture and
worktops, he can convert the space into 24 different rooms, including a kitchen, library, laundry
room, dining room, bar and video-game room.

2. Microapartments are essentially modern versions of the British bedsit, and are becoming
popular in urban centres in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and North America, maximizing profits for
developers and landlords and providing relatively low-priced accommodation.

Features of micro living

1. Flexible walls

Increasingly, architects are turning to multi-purpose spaces and flexible walls to ensure that these
tiny apartments pack a punch.

The pop.up apartment from Netherlands university TU Delft, was described as a Swiss
pocketknife approach to design. It has walls and seating on tracks that hide behind the structural
boundaries when they arent needed.

The design brief notes that only the desired shapes are being folded out, while the others stay
razor-thin in the existing walls.

Bedrooms that arent needed during the day time can be changed into a larger living room.

2. Embedded storage

Even those who opt for small dwellings come with a hefty amount of personal detritus. Storage
built into the walls and furniture can help solve this problem. Some architects have even gone so
far as to build storage into the unused areas of the home higher up on the walls or even on a
created mezzanine.

It doesnt even need to be complex to be useful. Brazils Chu Kato Architects created storage
with a minimalistic appeal in a small space, making the storage significant enough to also
incorporate the television unit (you can see this design at the top of this post).
Another example of embedded storage is Frances Kitoko Studios tiny apartment that includes
shelving or cupboards in almost every wall, as well as hidden living features. Even the bed is
hidden into the cupboard. This is actually a maids room for a French family.

3. Pull-out beds

Pull-out or hidden beds that fold away or can be used for other possibilities allow one of the
largest pieces of home furniture to become less of a burden on the floorplan of an apartment.
Considering the majority of the day is spent out of bed, it only makes sense to be able to hide the
bed away when it isnt needed.

Barcelonas Lego Apartment from Barbara Appollini Architects includes both fold out storage
and a pull-out bed that is hidden in a wall of panels. There are even decorative shelves that can
be folded down.

4. Customised furniture

Bespoke furniture for micro apartments can ensure that no floorspace is wasted and that each
item is as efficient as possible. Furniture that fits into awkward spaces, or that allows for storage
options described above, can be critical to the success of a small space. It can also be created to
allow the piece to provide multiple uses.

Digital Architecture shows this idea with their internal staircase up to the bed, which doubles as
drawers.

Dutch architects Queeste have also used customized furniture to ensure that everything fits into the
micro-apartment. It has seating that curves around the edges of the room and is available for short-term
rental.

5. Fold-out functionality

Fold out and slide out bench tops and other functional items can also help make the most of
limited space.

Melbourned-based architects Particular used the concept of fold-out functionality, already much
used in Hong Kongs micro apartments, to create their own office using the same techniques. It
included fold-out desks that could be immediately turned into a meeting space.

The Particular Studio also included a series of track mounted plywood bookcases that serve the
multi-use function of storage, display units and dividers.

Nest living
In major cities around the world, buildable land is at a premium. At the same time, a
continued trend of urban migration has led to a shortage of houses, inspiring a wealth of
innovative solutions from architects and designers. Swedish firm Manofactory have
 literally taken housing solutions to a new level, questioning why we need to build at
ground level at all.

Many animals, including birds, build their nests in trees, under roof tiles or in rock
crevices above the ground. Humans already build simple nesting boxes for birds to live
in, causing Manofactory to question why we cant build nesting boxes for ourselves a
simple house with several rooms, windows, and climate protection. Pointing to the
numerous cliff walls in cities across northern Scandinavia and elsewhere, Manofactory
have designed the Nestinbox a small wooden house with a steel structure to be mounted
on sheer cliff faces

What is driving the interest?

There are at least five factors currently driving the interest in microliving.

Economics: At an individual level, the overwhelming factor cited by many advocates of micro-
living is the lower cost of living- be it a recent college grad, a victim of the mortgage crisis, or a
retiree concerned about cost of living in old age. On the commercial side, developers of
microhousing apartment units clearly see an upside from adding more units in a given building
footprint.

Demographics: Nationally, over 26% of households consist of a single person living alone (1).
In Washington DC, that figure is 45%. The share of adults who are single has been rising
dramatically- in New York, Austin, Denver its 57%, in DC its 71%. In past 11 years the
marriage rate has also decreased from 8.2 marriages per 1000 (in 2000) to 6.8 in 2011. And on
the older spectrum: 28% of adults 65 or older lived alone as of 2010, and the numbers of
Americans over 65 has grown dramatically in the past decades- from 7 % in 1940 to 13% in
2010- now over 40 million. Add to this the average family and household size has also been
shrinking significantly- 3.29 in 1980 to 3.16 in 2010, and household declined 2.76 to 2.59 during
the same time.

Green living: Many are motivated by the lower ecological footprint of living small. A 2010
study of small homes by the Oregon Department of Environmental Equality (DEQ) found that
among 30 different green construction practices, reducing house size had the greatest
environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas reduction. According to the DEQ, a 50%
reduction in a houses square footage corresponds to a 36% reduction in carbon emissions over
its lifetime. (Grist)

Simpler Living: there is a growing sense among many that busy and expensive lives are
unsustainable at both an ecological and personal level. Many in the micro house movement come
to it with a realization that happiness in their lives has never correlated with the size of the spaces
they have inhabited. Some search for a simplicity of existence, the elegant economy of form of a
well designed small structure, an added freedom when unshackled from unneeded rooms and
unwelcome mortgages. Others believe that life is too short to live big- to spend more precious
life energy than needed dedicated to the designing, building, financing, cleaning, furnishing,
decorating, maintaining, and repairing, when we might better be loving, discovering, creating,
traveling.

Technology: modern technology is allowing us to fully or partially outsource services that

previously required personal ownership of private goods and services: transportation (Uber,
Car2go, Zipcar), music (Spotify, Soundcloud, etc), laundry (Washio, WashCycle), food shopping
(Instacart, Peapod), and even certain chores (Task Rabbit). It also has the potential to
dramatically compress the physical space taken by the goods we have remaining: music, books,
photos, videos, audio/visual systems, computers/printers, camping gear, furniture. The only thing
getting bigger seems to be our houses, our iPhones, cars, and maybe our bellies. All this makes
fully cultured micro-living more possible.

Design Principle

Assess the access to your space

Emphasize both the horizontal and the vertical
Multiply, dont duplicate function

Try using dark colours

Infuse with light
Play with texture and subtle print
Dont be confined to small furniture
Keep the contrast low
Focus on the positive
Build in storage