Micro Apartments
Are micro apartments set to be the ‘new thing’ in large cities? Micro apartments are starting to creep up in cities like Tokyo, New York and San Francisco. The apartments are roughly the size of a garage space for a car.
Apartments built on Tokyo were intended for a car parking space. Architects had to capitalise on every space available in the room. The owner of the micro homes wanted to live in Tokyo but would struggle to afford something at the current prices. The space only 30 square meters and is also shaped like a pizza. The entrance has a spiral staircase with mini furniture in the apartment all to make use of the small space. To avoid the feeling of being enclosed in a small space the doors are glass. The total construction came to approximately just over €388,000.
In July a competition was announced in New York for architects to come up with designs for apartments ranging from 25.5 to 28 square meters. The demand for apartments in New York surpashes the supply. In 2009 it is said that a couple paid $150,000 for a 16 square meter apartment.
A trial by San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors for micro apartments is set to get even smaller than Tokyo or New york at 20.4 square meters. The kitchen is integrated into the living room with a flat screen television built almost part of the unit and just over a computer worktop space. The toilet is located at the front and the chairs at the window with a hydraulic pop up table. No oven but a two burner electric stove and even a dishwasher. San Francisco have called the apartment blocks ‘smartspace’.
4pm think the apartments are a great idea, although two weeks living in one may change our mind. Smaller apartment means cheaper prices and rent meaning more single people may be able to afford to move out of the family home. It gives a new way of thinking on how we store things and use space around the home. 4pm would love to see one of Irelands cities experiment with an apartment block alike it may slow urban sprawl keeping our landscape green for a little longer.