Warsaw ‘Alley-House’ Takes Minimal Living to a New (lack of) Dimension!

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Imagine having to make a house translucent in order to minimize the fear-factor of such a compressed space? That is exactly what the architect of a new house in Warsaw did, according to a report at Time.com. Here is some more info:

Wedged in an alleyway between two apartment blocks, the ‘world’s thinnest house’ opened this Sunday in Warsaw. The triangular dwelling is 33 feet long and 5 feet wide at its widest point. In some places it narrows to just 3 feet.

The house’s architect, Jakub Szczesny, insists he hasn’t skimped on the basics. “It contains all necessary amenities such as a micro-kitchen, mini-bathroom, sleeping cubicle and tiny work area, all accessible via ladders,” he told Britain’s Metro newspaper. “I think plenty of light is most important in order to eliminate the fear of the small space.”

The house does indeed have an airy feel thanks to its white interior and a steeply pitched roof made of polycarbonate skylights, reports Smart Planet. The downside? The tiny bathroom features a combined shower and toilet.

Here is the design concept for the interior:

The article mentions New York and San Francisco – New York has sought to increase the amount of single-dweller housing, including 300 square foot unite … and San Francisco has looked to developers to cut that to as low as 150 square feet! There are also links to check out other micro-houses in Amsterdam, Japan, New York, and Puerto Rico.

And for fun here is a link to a 500 square foot house called the ‘Man with the Million Cabinet Apartment’.

Check out the video:

We actually upsized four years ago when we moved from Massachusetts to western New York, and while I could see going back to ~2000 square feet (we currently have over 4000) I couldn’t imagine some of these extreme spaces – though the 500 foot place looks pretty cool for solo (or perhaps couple) living.

What do you think?

Source: Time

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About the Author

Michael Anderson
I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!

8 Comments on "Warsaw ‘Alley-House’ Takes Minimal Living to a New (lack of) Dimension!"

  1. Wow. Just, wow.

    I fear that the money saved on rent/mortgage will be spent on eating out, as I just can’t imagine cooking and eating in that small of a space. Not to mention the difficulty getting your groceries up that ladder.

    • Definitely for minimalist living. I mean, you wouldn’t really be entertaining others there, unlike in that 500 sq ft place in the video I linked. It seems much more of a novelty – but as more and more cities look to find ways to deal with single-dweller explosion I wonder how common stuff like this will become.

  2. Reminds me very much of the J.G. Ballard short story “Billennium”. I recommend it, as long as you don’t mind being terrified (of the future) and depressed.

  3. I’ve always been intrigued by small homes, but I can’t imagine living like that in the city surrounded by urban sprawl and noise. I live in the suburbs and I much prefer the rural settings of my youth. As someone who enjoys cooking, I share David Min’s comment about the kitchen/dining area. Where would I keep my stockpots? 😉

  4. I’ve always been intrigued by small homes, but I can’t imagine living like that in the city surrounded by urban sprawl and noise. I live in the suburbs and I much prefer the rural settings of my youth. As someone who enjoys cooking, I share David Min’s comment about the kitchen/dining area. Where would I keep my stockpots? 😉

  5. I’m intrigued by small homes (see my post on Tiny Texas Homes), but as Bryan said, not so much in an urban setting. This would feel almost opressive after a while, I fear. =/

  6. That 500 sq ft apt looks awesome. I would’ve loved that place when I was a bachelor.

    As for small spaces, I have to say, layout is everything. My current place is only 1150 sq ft, but it feels large, because of how well it is laid out.

    One of the biggest wastes of space? Bedrooms. I used to have 220 sq ft bedrooms, but my current place has only 120-140 sq ft bedrooms. It felt too small at first, but these days I appreciate all the extra footage in the living areas. It made me realize that you really don’t need that much space for clothing/dressing/sleeping.

Comments are closed.