In view of the space in cities, architect narrow houses, which can squeeze into closest gaps. In today's contribution we present 10 such houses for narrow plots. These are summarized with a width of four meters or less to show that size can often be a relative term.
Narrow houses between buildings
The Japanese studio Yuua Architects & Associates has built a house in a 2.5 meter wide space between two existing buildings in Tokyo. The rooms of the four -story residence are only 1.8 m wide, hence the name: 1.8 m wide house. This forced the two builders Madoka Aihara and Toshiyuki Yamazaki to plan the interior very carefully. Your answer was the use of floors on two levels to create natural partitions between different rooms. As a result, the team reduced the need for walls in the house, making small rooms more generous.
The house houses a single resident and a cat in Toshima Ward, the densest community in the center of Tokios. As in the central areas of many Japanese cities, the lack of space has led to an increase in narrow houses. The locals refer to these as eel beds or nests. However, the biggest problem with such objects is to get a lot of light into the interior. For this reason, architects often include double high living spaces and high windows in their designs. Current examples are a 3.4 meter wide house in Osaka and a 2.7 meter wide house in Shiga.
Inside the building there are also four main floors, each of which is divided into two floors. A staircase on the back connects the three top levels, while small stairs in the middle of the building create paths between the lower floors. Both stairwells consist of steel steps without a strap through which the light can penetrate. Slim handrails run down next to it. Instead of using a light color scheme, the inner walls were painted dark to give the room a feeling of depth, while floors and ceilings were covered with scaffolding boards to offer a texture. This emphasizes the window wall in front of the building - it becomes the center of each floor.
2.5 meter wide house in Tokyo
The architect Takeshi Hosaka has built a micro -red with a total area of only 19 square meters and two curved roofs in Tokyo. The one -story building called Love2 House is located on a property in the Bunkyo district, which is only 31 m² in size. On the compact floor, Hosaka was able to provide space and amenities for the habits that he and his wife enjoy most, including food, read, daily swimming and listening to records.
The roof shapes are flat on their basics to supplement the style of neighboring buildings. However, they gradually bend when they rise to create the arched openings. These roofs are also suitable for narrow houses and are covered with galvanized aluminum panels on the outside. Internally, the reinforced concrete structure is exposed to create a coherent and uniform space. The height of the sloping ceilings increases the total volume of the compact interior. Seven partitions protrude from the reinforced concrete walls and define the eating, kitchen and sleeping area. The feeling of space inside the building is increased by being connected to the outdoor area by the skylight and a large sliding door that lines the living space.
3.2 meters wide home in the USA
The architecture firm Office of Jonathan Tate has a high,narrow houseDesigned in Louisiana, which offers a new approach for homes in America. The Starter Home No 1 project is located in the Irish Channel district in New Orleans, which runs along the Mississippi. It is the first completed apartment in a program that aims to improve the opportunities for people, to own their first home. So the company designed an apartment with a bedroom, one and a half bathrooms and an office. The draft was aimed at finding an individual or a couple who are increasingly difficult to find available apartments in this neighborhood as a category.
The apartment is located on a narrow property, between a small warehouse and a historic two -family house. The property, which measures 5 by 17 meters, used to be the backyard of an adjacent residence. Due to the rules of the setback, the authorities have limited the building surface to 3.2 x 14 m. The architect was further restricted by guidelines that were imposed by a conservation commission. The Irish Channel district is a proven historical quarter, which means that strict guidelines in new buildings have to be observed in terms of size and mass. In response, the design team designed a slim, 90 square meter house with three floors.
The rectangular building with wood and steel frames has outer walls made of corrugated iron, which are interrupted with commercially available windows and doors. A multi -edge roof also gives the house a very sculptural profile. To save space, the team placed the front door at the side of the house. An increased wooden deck runs between the input height and the adjacent warehouse and connects to a terrace in the back. Inside, the architects used simple surfaces such as white drywall walls as well as concrete and wooden floors. The design of the house thus corresponds to the restrictive conditions of the location as a strange new apartment type for the city.
Narrow houses - 3.4 wide house in Holland
The Dutch architects Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman designed this narrow house in Rotterdam for themselves. They built hidden windows into the black brick walls and added a large hammock inside. The architectural couple designed their three -story house in such a way that it takes a narrow gap of only 3.4 meters wide and 20 meters depth between the houses in an old Rotterdam quarter. Huisman and Boterman, who wanted to create bright and airy rooms in relation to the height of the house in relation to the height of the house.
Two parallel reinforced concrete slabs are vertically inside the house and carry the load to the massive foundation. This enabled the architects to create large openings in the front and back. The blackened brick facade is said to complement the masonry of neighboring houses from the 19th and 20th centuries. Perforation in the facade hides three windows that are reset from the street. These “hidden” windows only appear at night when the rooms are illuminated. Two large bay windows also stretch slightly in front to make the residents sit comfortably and watch passing people.
Inside the house, the two plywood used to include any function of the concrete pillars that are suitable for the living spaces they use. These include the kitchen and storage space for the dining room, bookshelves for the library and the living room as well as the bathroom and the wardrobe for the bedrooms. The volumes are set off from the walls to enable the view between different rooms. Accordingly, these are located on both sides, with a view of the street and the rear garden. On the living room side, a large emptiness is used as a hammock in front of a window with a view of the garden and the sky. The deep bay window on the other side offers space to sit and read.
With steel chains as a facade
Metal curtains hang in front of the windows of this three and a half meter wide house in Osaka by Fujiwaramuro Architects, which has two levels with several stairs. The local architects were commissioned to design a narrow house to replace a torn building in the Honshu trade center. This is best known for its modern architecture. The tightly crowded terrain and the urban environment required a design that can offer a lot of natural light without affecting the privacy of the homeowner. The architect's answer was the creation of a slim three -story house with room -high windows, which were reset from a chain curtain made of stainless steel. This leaves light in and at the same time protects privacy.
While the metal curtain provides a lot of natural light for the interiors of the house, the architects had to make the interiors more interesting in any other way. The team distributed the living rooms on three levels and a basement. This creates an optically appealing interior. This includes a spacious entrance, an open living and dining area as well as two bedrooms, a bathroom and a roof terrace. Several open stairs at both ends of the narrow house also connect the floors on two levels. This creates a number of traffic routes that encourage them to wander through the house instead of moving into monotonous.
Four -story town house with a light shaft
Curved balconies with tropical planting wrap a light shaft in the only 3.5 meter wide core of this narrow house in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt. The house 304 designed by the local company Kientruc O for a young family is located on a 42 m² property in a residential area of the city. The 179 square meter floor plan is thus spread over four narrow floors. So it forms a slim building that blends in between the walls of existing residential buildings. Narrow houses are becoming increasingly popular in densely populated cities, especially throughout Asia. The architects had only three meters of scope when planning a three -meter -wide house in Seoul, while an example in Tokyo is integrated into a 2.4 meter wide gap.
With just a 3.5 meter wide facade, which led to the street, the architects asked the question of lighting the rooms in the middle and on the back of the site. In the middle of the block, the team introduced a D-shaped atrium and provided the facade with a grille glazing. This ensures natural light and ventilation of the 12 meter long building. Each of the floors steps back from the street and creates space for other small balconies filled with plants along the facade. Inside, the floor plan is dominated by large inner breeds around the edge of the shaft. Balcons, walls and doors have rounded corners that also match the D-shaped light shaft.
The primary living area with an open living room, an dining area and a kitchen is located on the ground floor of the building. Dark wooden furniture and beige upholstery contrast with the glossy white soils and walls. The room of a maid is on the floor above the living room, while there are two family rooms on the second and third floor, and there is a study and a laundry room on the top floor.
Modern building with perforated facade
KC Design Studio has equipped a 3.7 meter wide house in Taiwan with a perforated house facade and a light shaft to counteract the lack of daylight in the 50 -year -old building. Although the narrow house is less than four meters wide, it consists of an open kitchen and a living room. It also has a play area as well as three bedrooms, two bathrooms and its own bathroom. These living spaces are reset from the facade to create a "garden room" that extends from the play area and the main bedroom. The half -open rooms are also provided with a grid facade. This ensures a high degree of natural light without impairing the privacy of the homeowner.
The architects also removed parts of the floors and replaced them with glass panes that formed an atrium. This allows light to flood the depth of the building without reducing the valuable floor surface. Some of the partitions of the house were also replaced by glass. A perforated floating staircase ensures that the light is not blocked from the glass floor at the top. A light range of material made of cool gray and white was selected to reflect and maximize the light. White wooden floors and concrete walls are consistently combined with stainless steel, wood and glass details.
Example of tower -like narrow houses
This residence called Tiny Tower fills a remaining property in Philadelphia. The architectural firm Isa has designed a slim five -story house in a developing district of Philadelphia as a prototype for small vacant lots. The construction looks like a mini cloud scratch and consists of a steel-reinforced wooden frame that is covered with painted metal on the outside. Windows also take large parts of the street facade. Each of the levels is designed for different functions and has a total area of 116 square meters. Tiny Tower uses a compact vertical circulation and maximizes the floor area of the entire property both in length and in height. The house is 3.6 m wide, 8.8 m deep and 11.5 m high.
The graded structure stands out from the neighbors, including parking spaces and the gardens of neighboring houses. The Tiny Tower does not have a farm, but a window garden on the lower level, a walk -in terrace on the second level and a roof terrace. The ground floor is located a little below the slope, so that the height of the building is not too pushy for the environment. Another basement offers sufficient living space within the volume pressed onto the narrow property. The lowest level houses a kitchen and a bathroom. At the top, the main entrance opens a few steps deeper to the living room.
There is a bedroom and a bathroom on the upper two floors. The roof terrace offers additional living space when the weather is nice. White walls, bright wooden floors and a lot of daylight create an airy backdrop. Furniture, which is kept in white, is used sparingly to create a spacious and untrained ambience. Since land in cities are becoming increasingly scarce, architects develop narrow houses as clever solutions to close gaps in the city. Other variants that make the best of their small land have already become a trend worldwide.
Atmosphere with plant facade
VO Trong Nghia Architects has covered the roof and facade of the “Breathing House” in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt with a canopy made of climbing plants. Thus, the architects created private outdoor areas. The breathing house is located on a narrow and deep property in a densely populated quarter, which is only accessible via a narrow alley. Due to the restricted terrain, the only areas that could be opened were the front, the back and top of the building. Each of these surfaces then required what the team described as a “green veil”. So this consists of a steel fabric with growing creeping plants that protect the interior. The plant curtain ensures that the outdoor area and the openings remain a private area for the residents.
The building is also entered by a garage and a hallway on the ground floor, in which a guest room with a small courtyard is located on the back. The stairs lead to a kitchen and dining area on the first floor, which merges seamlessly into the main lounge. The main sleeping room is on the second floor, the children's room on the upper level. The fourth floor contains a hallway and an altar with access to a rounded terrace. This outdoor area is overlooked by a larger roof terrace, which is notched under the sloping leaf roof.
Urban home with concrete facade
The Brazilian company Estúdio Bra Arquitetura has designed a compact house for a long and narrow plot of land, which comprises courtyards at the front and back and a roof terrace. The Pirajá house is located on a plot of 4 by 24 meters in the Pinheiros district in São Paulo. The project was designed for a young couple and his dog and included the demolition of a large part of an existing house that has been family -owned for three generations. The low ceilings and the excessively divided rooms did not meet the needs of the current residents. For this reason, the architects designed a 110 square meter, two -story apartment that originally had brick walls. On the survey directed to the street, the upper part is covered with concrete and is slightly cheating over the floor.
The ground floor of the residence is surrounded by an inner courtyard with high brick walls. These are covered with a structured gray material called Chapisco. A glass swinging door marks the entrance of the house and leads to an open kitchen and a dining area. White brick walls combine perfectly with a kitchen island made of marble and warm tinted wooden cabinets. The architects also designed all pieces of furniture. The floor covering consists of patterned tiles and wood. In the back of the ground floor there is a living room with exposed brick walls and wooden floors.
A sliding glass door opens to a back yard with local plants and a Jabuticabeira tree or a Brazilian wine vine. This not only donates shadows, but also produces berries. On the back of the courtyard there is a bathroom and a covered barbecue area. A metal staircase leads to the roof, where the team installed a shed for laundry and mechanical equipment. The roof terrace also offers a vegetable garden, a small lawn and a wide view of the city.
