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Tiny Homes

Styles

1 March 2022


When ecological awareness is awakened, the whole habitat is rethought and turned upside down. A pressing need to return to the roots and to be ready for change is expressed in architecture: human-sized beehives and termite mounds, micro-houses on demand, post-apocalyptic capsules…

 

Completely new aesthetics are emerging around biomimicry and are enveloped in nature. At the same time, sea containers, prefabricated houses and « ready to pack » units are springing up to offer less polluting alternatives to concrete buildings. Even further afield, collapsolgy and the conquest of space are inspiring « space cocoons » ready to explore new horizons… In short, the house of the future is now dreaming of being smaller and more insulated, simple and functional, mobile and modular. Here is a demonstration.

  • Habitat

    Termite mound

  • Aesthetics

    Biomimicry

  • Art of living

    Nomadism

  • Solution

    Mars

Biomorphic dwellings and woodland islands

Domes Charlevoix © Bourgeois/Lechasseur architects

Cabane Niliaitta © Studio Puisto

Urbanites are escaping the city to reconnect with the environment. Designers and architects are hybridizing plants with modern buildings that emphasize biomimicry and natural materials: wood, bamboo, natural fibres, etc. Isolated buildings in communion with nature that resemble beehives, termite mounds and cocoons on a human scale.

Cabane Niliaitta © Studio Puisto

Wikkelhouse © Fiction Factory

The latest example is Bert, the tree house designed by the Austrian studio Precht as a dwelling shaped by the forest. The slender biomorphic structure, like a tree trunk, connects to the ground with a minimal footprint and blends into the background with a neutral facade. An island of green and design, which underlines the possibilities of the cohabitation between man and nature.

Bert Treehouse © Precht Studio

Bert Treehouse © Precht Studio

Prefabricated modules Coodo © LTG & Co

House LoftCube © Werner Aisslinger

Treehouse © Wee Studio

Containers and prefabricated houses offer a new boost to mobility

Stack Pavilion © People’s Architecture Office

© Container Boato Studio

As nomadism becomes a way of life in its own right, prefabricated houses and sea containers are the new multi-purpose housing solutions: autonomous, mobile and modular. Structures that can be easily assembled and disassembled to embrace mobility.

 

At the same time, they are a good alternative to energy-intensive concrete buildings, which are responsible for 7 to 8% of global CO2 emissions.

Starburst House © Whitaker Studio

Housing units Tini

In this vein, the Spanish micro-house solution Tini designs compact housing units that are ready for use within sixty days.

 

Tiny houses in tune with the landscape in which they are built: inside, the ceiling, walls, cupboard and kitchen are made of OSB poplar wood, while the bathroom counter and custom-made desks are made from pine from northern Spain.

Housing units Tini

Container House by Studio H:T © Braden Gunem

Container-house by Studio H:T © Braden Gunem

Itinerant retail

Puma City mobile shop

Flagship Freitag Zurich

This « above ground » spirit is also developing in retail. Flagships are reusing containers to set up mobile shop concepts that can be easily rearranged and moved around the world, like the Puma City project, which includes 24 containers refurbished by the LOT-EK studio in the brand’s colours. Another example is the Freitag flagship in Zurich’s Hardbrücke, which combines 19 containers stacked on top of each other to reach a height of 26 metres.

Travelling shop Puma City

UFO capsules

Open Architecture x Xiaomi Mars Case House

Eco Capsule par Nice Architects

Collapses and the conquest of space are also propelling the home towards new horizons. Architecture and habitat are being shaped around the notions of ecological urgency and mobility. In this context, the house is transformed into post-apocalyptic capsules and spaceships ready to land on a new planet. A trend inspired by the post-modern era, as described in the Retro-Fantasy Trendbook 22/23.

Eco Capsule by Nice Architects

Open Architecture x Xiaomi Mars Case House

Maisons Futuro de Matti Suuronen for Futuro Home Ltd © marston park

Futuro houses by Matti Suuronen for Futuro Home Ltd © marston park

Prefabricated house AirShip002 par Roderick James

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