Small houses and other compact structures from around the world

In the conditions of the instability of the world economy and the slowdown in the rate of growth in construction, small houses become a way to meet the needs of people in a personal home, even if compact, but well planned and organized. This need encourages designers and architects to develop large-scale projects, but stay within a certain format.

Material for writing this article is taken from the recently published book of the famous publishing house Taschen. It's called Small: Architecture Now! and tells about a variety of architectural structures of compact dimensions: tea houses, huts, saunas and even doll houses that set trends for small format construction.

Among them there are luxurious and most simple high-ecological objects, designed by celebrities such as Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Bana and beginners. We'd like to tell you about the most interesting buildings today.

Beetle's House ("The Beetle House") in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Terunobu Fujimori project

Designed specifically for the exhibition held at the museum in 2010, the original structure on stilts is a modern version of the traditional Japanese tea house.

The coal shade, called to cause associations with black tea, was used for decoration of the facade and interior. Due to this, the house is perceived as a small, but very cozy shelter. Initially Fujimori planned to create a hanging structure, but it was impossible to realize this intention within the framework of the exhibition, and then the architect decided to put it on piles.

Skid-run in New Zealand, project Crosson Clarke Carnachan

Situated in the coastal erosion zone on the Coromandel Peninsula, this hut is designed to be moved. It is a wooden structure on special skids that allow it to be dragged through the beach and loaded onto a barge.

Its design, based on a combination of natural materials, is inspired by the beauty of the local nature and the primitive architecture of the coast guard towers. Be that as it may, a small house, trimmed with large-cypress wood, can accommodate a family of five. One of the facades can be raised, and then it turns into a canopy, and the interior actually merges with the landscape.

Complex of buildings Endémico Resguardo Silvestre in Mexico, project Gracia Studio

Company Gracia Studio designed a complex of mini-hotels, built later on 99 hectares of land in the state of Baja California. In addition, on its territory was built a private winery, designed to increase the attractiveness of the object in the eyes of tourists. The specialists were tasked to minimize the impact on the environment, so they decided to put houses on special platforms on piles.

The Cortan steel liner allows the structures to perfectly fit into the semi-desert landscape and increases their resistance to weathering. Endémico Resguardo Silvestre is a luxurious interpretation of the camping that provides a complete immersion in the natural environment and the satisfaction of all life needs.

House with a hearth for children in Norway, the project Haugen / Zohar

With a modest budget, a designer from Oslo Marit Justin Haugen and Israeli architect Dan Zohar designed and built this charming house in Trondheim from the remains of materials from a nearby construction site. 80 layers piled on top of each other are laid on a concrete foundation. Their diameter gradually decreases as it approaches the top of the hut, which gives it the shape of an old fireplace with a chimney. The curved sliding door allows you to cover the inside of the hearth.

Загородный коттедж Home-For-All in Ivae, Toyo Ito project

After 70% of Ricudentsataka's city square was in ruins as a result of the devastating earthquake that occurred in March 2011, the famous architect Toyo Ito invited three colleagues to collaborate with them to design the Home-For-All. This house was to become a place in which its inhabitants could find peace and be charged with energy for the restoration of the city.

Many local organizations have financially supported this plan, as a result of which we have the opportunity to admire an unusual structure 10 meters high, whose spiral structure is formed by inclined platforms, effectively hanging over the ground.

City Residence Riverside in Tokyo, Kota Mizuishi project

On a tiny triangular stretch of land, sandwiched between the river and the road, an unusual house was built, which the architect Kota Mizuysi designed specifically for the young couple and their little daughter. The dining room and kitchen occupy most of the ground floor space, and the living room windows face out on both sides, which emphasizes the original configuration of the object.

The construction of the console level with a long overhang allowed, as they say, to squeeze the maximum out of the available space. There is also an attic with windows that open up a panorama of the sky.

Sol Duc hut in Washington, Olson Kundig Architects project

This hut, located on the Olympic peninsula, stands on steel piles, which provides it with protection from floods and flooding. The customer of the project dreamed of getting a house that is almost impossible to destroy. He lives on vacation when he comes to the peninsula to fish, so reducing operating costs was another priority for him.

A small bedroom is located above the kitchen and living room, from which there is access to a kind of observation deck.

The Delta hut in Washington on the Olson Kundig Architects project

Just like Sol Duc, this hut, located on the inter-communal territory of Mazam, is put on steel piles, which gives its inhabitants the opportunity to more fully view the surroundings. Massive shutters that protect windows from bad weather can be raised with a simple manual mechanism.

Since the area where Delta is located is very far from the city infrastructure, the architects had to deliver pre-assembled structures here and from them to build a house.

Doll house in the store on Madison Avenue in New York, Rex project

Specialists of the company Rex designed this miniature residence on the order of the leadership of the fashion house Calvin Klein. She adorned the Christmas display window of the flagship boutique of the brand, located on Madison Avenue in New York. In the minimalist interior of the house, models from the current Calvin Klein collection were presented.

Specialists Rex took as a basis the image of "the woman Calvin Klein", a typical inhabitant of the megalopolis, and created a playful miniature of the residence in a minimalist style.

Ark Booktower ("The Book Tower") at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Rintala Eggertsson Architects project

Within the same exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Rintala Eggertsson specialists built a temporary structure in the form of a wooden tower. The location of the facility was one of the staircases of a London institution.

Conceived as a "transition from the physical space of the museum to an imaginary literary space", the tower is a huge shelving filled with hundreds of old books. At the same time, all publications are arranged in such a way that only their slices can be seen from the outside.

Interior is a bright collage made up of the roots of books. "In order to know the contents of the book, you need to enter the tower" - something like this was put into the installation by its creators.

Portal Of Awareness ("Portal of Consciousness") in Mexico City, the project Rojkind Arquitectos

By order of the brand Nescafé, a dynamic structure called the "Portal of Consciousness" has ascended over one of the main streets of Mexico City - Paseo de la Reforma.

A group of artists, led by chief designer Rojkind Arquitectos, fixed 1500 steel mugs on a reinforcing mesh, which, with both ends, rests on flowerbeds with curly plants. And without that the dynamic design seems flexible and moving, thanks to the presence of subtle gradients of color - from a dark red-brown to a fiery-orange.

Arbor and sauna Yingst in Michigan, project Salmela Architecture

These two small structures, located in a forest near Lake Michigan, are part of a fairly impressive homeownership, a project that was developed by specialists from Salmela Architecture.

The arbor consists of three wooden frames and flat trusses, trimmed with black paper laminated plastic. The more relaxed is the simple structure of the sauna, which is a white cube with a "green" roof, allowing it to merge with the forest landscape.

Multi-level house with pillars Pillar House in Tokyo, the project Suzuko Yamada Architects

Initially, the model house Pillar House was designed and manufactured specifically for the contest, which was held by the Tokyo City Art Museum. As the winner of the match Suzuko Yamada got the right to build her full-scale version. The place of construction was Ueno Park.

The Quinta Botanica residence in Portugal, the Shigeru Ban project

Built on a cliff above the ocean, this residence is the property of a wealthy collector of paintings and rare plants. The masterpiece of the Pritzker laureate Shigeru Ban is also an installation and a pavilion for exhibitions and receptions. In structural terms, this structure is a copy of another project Bana - Paper House, which he created in 1995.

Wooden formwork, cardboard pipes and steel screws form its foundation - a solid construction capable of withstanding both lateral and vertical loads.

When building the pavilion it was possible to avoid cutting down trees - due to the fact that it tapers in the direction from the facade to the far part.

Of course, not every one of these objects is adapted to live in people, even from time to time. But all of them can serve as sources of inspiration for designers who decided to engage in the design of compact houses.

Which structure impressed you more than others? Write about it in the comments.