Home size comparison around the world

There is a survey by Cabe, the Commision for Architecture and the Built Environment in UK that shows average floor space of newly built homes around the world. See the article from BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8201900.stm


For one Charleston couple, the American dream fits into 96 square feet

The idea of a tiny house is nothing new, but these so-called tumbleweed houses have been popularized recently by designer Jay Shafer, who has spread the gospel of compact living on HGTV. 

While Shafer makes a living selling do-it-yourself manuals and ready-made tiny houses that go for up to $55,000, Baele and Tremols are building their dream home from scratch with no instruction manual.  -- Charleston City Paper

Source: archdaily.com

San Francisco Approves Nation’s Tiniest Apartments

San Francisco has recently approved legislation that will change the city building code to allow for “micro-unit apartments” that includes only 220 square feet of living space. These spaces aim at providing affordable options for singles to live in densely populated urban areas without having to live in the outskirts of the city. Although more of a craze in NY, San Francisco has actually surpassed New York as the most expensive rental market in the country. -- ArchDaily

Source:  nytimes.com

One Size (Small) Fits All

The so-called micro-pad is now a buzz phrase and a cultural touchstone, thanks to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. But when single-room living was being sketched out in the floor plans of Manhattan’s first apartment buildings, particularly during the boom years of the 1920s, it was called the studio apartment. -- New York Times

Living small mantra hitting Boston

Across the country, developers, investors and city planners are trying to achieve a housing price point that is more affordable. New housing costs are based on square footage — the more square footage, the higher the price. “The challenge is trying to find the intersection of an affordable rental price and how small people are willing to go,” said Fred Kramer, president of architecture and design firm ADD Inc. Boston isn’t the only American city turning to micro-apartments to accommodate the need for more affordable urban housing. -- Boston Herald

Source: Denver Architectural League

Denver Microhousing Competition Attracts Global Interest

“Clearly, there’s a global interest in microhousing,” says longtime Denver architect George Hoover, who chaired the six-person jury. Certainly there is a national push for housing with units of 300 square feet or smaller. Projects are being explored and built in such cities as Boston, New York, and San Francisco, where the cost of living is high. In those cities, microhousing is increasingly seen as an affordable option for people who don’t need a lot of space. -- Architectural Record