Micro Apartments : A New Trend Builds..!

Japanese Style Small Quarters catch on in North American cities.

The idea is to be more efficient & eventually to offer cheaper rents.

House size shrinks

By VANESSA WONG

Imagine waking in a 15 - by - 15 feet apartment that still manages to have everything you need.

The bed collapses into the wall, and a breakfast table extends down from the back of the bed once its tucked away.

Instead of closets, look overhead to nooks suspended from the ceiling.

Company coming Get out the stools that stack such as nesting dolls in an ottoman.

Micro-apartments, in some cases smaller than college dorm rooms, are cropping up in North American cities as urban planners experiment with new types of housing to accommodate growing numbers of single professionals, students and the elderly.

Single-person households made up 26.7 % of the US total in 2010 Vs 17.6 % in 1970, According to Census Bureau data.

In cities, the proportion is often higher:  In New York, its nearly 33 %. And these botes arent just for singles.

 

The idea is to be more efficient & eventually to offer cheaper rents.

To foster innovation, manyl municipalities are waiving zoning regulations to allow construction of smaller dwellings at select sites.

In 2012 November, San Francisco reduced minimum requirements for a pilot project to 220 square feet, from 290 square feet for a two (2) person efficiency unit- Flat.

In Boston, where most houses are at least 450 square feet, the city has approved 300 new units as small as 375 square feet.

With the blessing of local authorities,a developer in Vancouver in 2011 converted a singleroom occupancy hotel into 30 microlofts under 300 square feet.

Seattle & Chicago have also green lighted micro-apartments.

In the foreseeable future, this trend will continue, says Mr. Avi Friedman, a Professor & Director of the Affordable Homes Research Group at McGill Universitys School of Architecture.

A growing number of people are opting to live alone or  / not to have children, he says.

Among this group, many choose cities over suburbs to reduce reliance on cars & cut commute times. Several people recognise that there is a great deal of value to living in the city, he says.

 

Mr.AVi Friedman calls the new fashion for micro-digs the Europeanisation of North America.In the UK the average home is only 915 square feet.

In the US the average new single-family home is 2,480 square feet.The National Association of Home Builders expects it to shrink to 2,152 square feet by 2015.

Small living has deep roots in Japan, where land is scarce. By the late 1980s the average Japanese home measured 900 square feet.

Tight quarters also demand ingenuity &  compromise. Think of the Japanese futon or /  the under-the-counter refrigerator, a feature of European apartments.

Although tiny, the American properties arent cheap, at least not on a per square feet basis.In San Francisco, where two projects are under way, rents will range from $ 1,200 to $1,500 a month.

In New York, the 20-odd units for low - and middle - income renters will start at $ 939.

Mr. Ted Smith, an architect in San Diego, says singles would be better served by residences that group efficiency studios into suites with communal areas for cooking, dining, and recreation.

There needs to be cool, hip buildings that everyone loves & goes, Man, these little units are wonderful, not I guess I can put up with this.

Src: Bloomberg Businessweek

Share: