Contemporary Design Icons: Photo Essay: Micro Homes

“Modern large houses appear to be extravagantly large for their inhabitants.”
— Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau’s little log cabin in Walden Pond could be considered the iconic representation of minimalistic living. Back in the mid-19th century, Thoreau wrote about his two-year experiment living a simple life alone in the woods. In Walden, he describes his cabin consisting of a bed, a table, a desk, three chairs, a looking glass, a pair of tongs and gridirons, a kettle, a skillet, and a frying a pan. He criticized society’s need for the accumulation of “stuff” and firmly believed that the more you have, the poorer you are.

Throughout time we have seen the architecture of the home expand, not only to accommodate growing families but also the growth of acquired material goods. As the economy flourished many individuals’ personal wealth grew along with their need for bigger housing, creating the phenomenon known as the “McMansion.” However, as more emphasis is put on the environmental impact such places have, and how we can contribute to the preservation of the planet, there has been an increasing awareness about socially conscious housing, one that requires a much smaller building footprint. Many are downsizing and turning to micro housing as an option for a new way of living.

Today, the options for micro homes go beyond the simple cabin in the woods. Micro homes and micro apartments are popping up in the heart of the overcrowded city, where the cost of real estate is sky high. From land-scarce Japan to a dense New York City, architects are creating innovative ways of turning shoeboxes into beautiful, comfortable, livable spaces by using creative design that maximizes the use of every nook and cranny to accommodate the amenities of a 21st century society. Many of these homes optimize their vertical space, incorporate design features and furniture that are multipurpose, and make use of state-of-the-art equipment and technology for space saving and energy savings. These homes are meant to show that one can indeed live comfortably with a lot less square footage. In the US where the average home size is approximately 2,000 square feet, we are now seeing homes as small as 65 square feet. These homes offer not only an affordable way of living but also, an ecological one too.