Microhouses
October 19, 2010 - 5:18pm
Japan’s Microhouses
Japan has been suffering from an economic slow down since the nineties. Once poised to become the top economy in the world, China recently overtook Japan as the world’s #2 economy. The Times piece covers a lot of ground — living conditions, the zeitgeist amongst the youth, and common survival methods — but one thing that stuck out to us was the description of the microhouses that some young Japanese urbanites choose to live in:
These matchbox-size homes stand on plots of land barely large enough to park a sport utility vehicle, yet have three stories of closet-size bedrooms, suitcase-size closets and a tiny kitchen that properly belongs on a submarine.
A new generation of Japanese homeowners are resorting (or, in many cases, choosing) to extreme measures to deal with housing in densely packed metropoli like Tokyo. Earlier this summer NPR showcased a few microhomes, highlighting the unique, volumetric solutions some architects are employing to deal with the shortage of space and money.
We’ll leave you with just a few of the more high-design microhomes, and the question: what would the American equivalent be? Will there be an American equivalent?
Vancouver has started adding infill housing (lane houses and such). The problem is that developers take the opportunity and build a luxury small house which does little for the affordability problem.
Yeah Pogo, using the space is nice--but it's just taking advantage of the obscene price of a square foot of real estate in certain Vancouver naeighbourhoods. Of course, these Tokyo homes don't exactly look like they're on the low end of spec either...
The story in the OP reminded me of Toronto's "Little House."