"the smaller the footprint of the house, the greater the footprint of the land" more micro housing in NYT

i've posted before on my fascination with micro-housing.  it stands against excess. it's quaint and comforting. safe. it's cool. minimalist and distilled. womb-like. every small house presents a good design problem. it eschews the tendency to amass possessions. a prophetic voice against "bigger-is-better" consumerist bent in me and for that reason, it also interests me as a follower of Christ. as an artist, these lilliputian sheds interest me as potential statements of beauty. and the spiritual introvert in me loves daydreaming about the monastic possibilities. i've dreamed of an art space / cell for years that would be like this. possibly something like the art silos in downtown san antonio.

i hadn't noticed until now, but the new york times has been covering this beat with regularity: today they published a story by steven kurutz about a tiny house built on the back of a pickup truck. one year earlier they published this about "high-style sheds". And back in February, Bethany Lyttle wrote "Think Small" — funny, it's a small headline which stands juxtaposed against the NYT "GREAT HOMES" section header (see photo, left). Lyttle also narrated a wonderful companion slide show where she shows the rural getaway of one Mr. Adams, a lawyer in San Francisco. Her narration says something to the effect that, "being in a small space makes the land seem greater," and she continues with this small profundity: 

"the smaller the footprint of the house, the greater the footprint of the land"

these photos bear witness to that little truth. so maybe one day when my lovely overcrowded nest thins out a bit. in the meantime, i'll enjoy daydreaming.

all of these photos above are copyright the New York Times, taken by Peter DaSilva, Michael Falco, Heidi Schumann, Alchemy Architects, John Friedman, and Jay Shafer for Tumbleweed Tiny Homes.

 

RESOURCES FOR TINY HOME MOVEMENT / MICRO-HOUSING:

prefab homes
fabprefab — which has links for many micro houses including:
zenkaya
smallhouse
kitHAUS

Comments

[Thom]

I wrote about this here: Tiny Houses as Nouveau Americana.

[Mike Stavlund]

Thanks for following and highlighting this trend.

We've lived in 430 sq. ft. for almost three years now, and it has been most instructive. I appreciate the simplicity, and the smaller financial footprint, and the relative ease of managing and cleaning the place, but perhaps most of all the coziness and efficiency. What is interesting is that, even with the prospect of another child on the way, I still vacillate between longing for something much bigger and wanting something even smaller.

[Christine Sine]

This is very interesting. My husband and I are very concerned not just about the impact of McMansions on the environment but also about the prohibitive cost of housing for young people. This is a trend that we had not heard about. Thanks for sharing it

[kj]

Speaking of smaller houses, here is an interesting video by a friend on thinking smaller & sharing more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7huKGnCojjU or http://max7.org/resource.aspx?id=8af75003-cc12-4ecc-848a-4fdd4fb82fe2

[rev mommy]

I've been thinking about space as well -- and how to recycle things. I like the Tumbleweed -- as well as the guy who is building a house out of recycled pallets. I am also intrigued with the thought of using old ISO shipping containers as a basis of a home.

I like the idea of tiny spaces. And the idea of using something that is such a symbol of rampant consumerism for a "house" seems like a form or redemption.