Tag: Video

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Drag and Drop Architecture at MIT’s CityHome

Are you interested in modular design, but worry that standardization will translate into an impersonal living experience? (Chances are you’re not, but just say yes.) Well the Changing Places Group at MIT’s Media Lab is developing a cool project called CityHome, which allows tons of customization for the modular, urban abode.

The project is a technological tool-set that matches a home’s architecture and functionality to the needs of its resident. Residents start by making a profile based on social media data and questionnaires (kinda like an online dating profile for architecture). The program makes suggestions based on the data and has a drag-and-drop capability so residents and architects can design the optimal living space for their particular lifestyle. Environmental sensing data optimizes the unit’s efficiency.

The above video uses a “very small footprint” 840 sq ft apartment as a case study (not sure what that makes the 420 sq ft LifeEdited Apartment…microscopic?). It shows that space in myriad configurations, with transforming walls and furniture.

While the project is not live just yet, it represents a direction for architectural design that allows for easy space customization and optimization before production. One of the biggest challenges of building the LifeEdited apartment was making changes in real time. Tools like CityHome might be able to leverage technology so residents get what they want and architects and builders build better, faster and more efficient homes.

Thanks for the tip Bruce!

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258 Sq Ft Apartment is the Ultimate Edited Bachelor Pad

Our friends at Fair Companies made this great video showing Barcelona-based photographer Christian Shallert’s 258 sq ft transforming apartment. The tiny space makes Gary Chang’s 344 sq ft apartment look like a mansion.

Unlike Chang’s apartment, whose jewel-box sheen makes it feel other-worldly, the wood cabineted interior of Shallert’s home make it feel like something that could be realized without an astronomical budget (or a degree in astrophysics).

Of note is his allocation of space. He includes a good size fridge and dishwasher in the tight kitchen, showing how small spaces can be adjusted to the habits of their owners.

One space that was not allocated was a relationship: After Shallert decided to cohabitate with his partner, he realized the space was a great bachelor pad, but not so great for 2.

Shallert contends that what most of us really want out of a home is a nice, comfortable mattress, clean sheets, running water and a stove to cook stuff. What about you? What do you think is essential in a home? How does that change with different circumstances like living with a partner or children?

via Fair Companies

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Past and Present of Transforming Furniture

Our good friends over at Resource Furniture put together this short video showing transforming furniture’s past and present. The vintage footage illustrates this type of furniture is hardly a new idea. People have been designing furniture to maximize the use of space for ages.

In fact, what’s new is NOT maximizing space. Consider that the average new American home in 1950 was 983 sq ft., and the average household had 3.37 people. According the US Census Bureau, those numbers in 2010 were 2,169 sq ft and 2.59 people. That works out to 293 and 837 sq ft/person respectively–almost 3 times as much space per person! Much of this extra square footage, we suspect, is consumed by seldom-used spaces like dining rooms, guest rooms and foyers. What if, by using transforming furniture, we make our rooms do double or triple duty? Combine dining rooms with guest rooms. Make living rooms into bedrooms. Just get rid of the foyer (the parsley sprig of architecture). How much space would we need then?

What if we started living and maximizing smaller living spaces again? They’re cheaper, greener and–for all but a few worst-case-scenarios–provide all the space we need. What ways would you do it–furniture, housewares, etc.? What ways are you doing it? Let us know what you think.

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Could You Live in a 90 Square Foot Apartment?

New York City is filled with small apartments. With an average home price of nearly $1.2M, New Yorkers quickly learn how to live to with less space. But even in this squeezed city, Felice Cohen’s 90 sq ft apartment is extreme.

Cohen is a professional organizer, writer and artist (whose medium is appropriately Shrinky Dinks). She pays $700 rent for the micro-apartment, which might sound like a lot to non-New Yorkers, but consider that the average rent in her neighborhood is over 5 times that amount. By keeping her overhead low (literally and figuratively), she explains that she is able to be financially responsible while making a career through her creative pursuits.

This space might be too tight for many of us. In fact, it turned out to be too small–and illegal–for Cohen, who was evicted because the apartment was being illegally subletted. Nevertheless, she gives some great tips for living happily in a small space:

  • Regularly weed through possessions, getting rid of what you don’t need.
  • Her membership at a collective workspace is an economical way to expand effective real estate.
  • Using the city’s libraries, parks and cultural centers as extensions of her home.

Do you think you could live in such a small space? What tips would you add to Cohen’s for living more with less?

via Fair Companies

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