This carbon neutral Cube House developed by the University of Hertfordshire, England is a little house with some big ideas. Measuring a scant 3x3x3 meters, the home is a three-dimensional puzzle that packs a unique living space with off-the-shelf technology to create a micro footprint. The home’s advanced features keep energy consumption to a minimum, making the small roof-top solar array large enough to feed the grid more energy that the home consumes. The home is more than just an experiment in design however -- Dr. Mike Page, the coordinator of the Cube House is very much interested in learning the physiological implications of high-quality, low-impact micro housing.
3x3x3= 27 cubic meters (not 3)
Of course it puts out more power. When you live in a shack smaller than the Unibomber, you’re bound to use little energy for the size of the solar panel.
Great design. I would like better pictures to see more details. By the way, the title should read “London’s 27 cubic meter…” and not “…3 cubic meter…
Thanks
Thanks, should have used my calculator.
it’s an interesting concept but there are some quirky thing. don’t really get why the kitchen is needed to be up on a raised platform. the space below the kitchen seems to be wasted.
not to be picky but this is not a 3x3x3 cube. the wood sided part is 3x3x3 but there is the sloped part above. jsut because it’s painted black doesn’t mean it can be ignored. also the ehat pump is mounted on the outside.
@dim I think all your questions are answered in the post. The third slide shows how the some of the space below the kitchen is used, there is also a hot water tank and composting toilet as well a storage, no space is wasted.
Heat pumps are just that, they transfer heat from the interior and the exterior so there is a coil (heat exchanger) on either side of the wall.
Thanks Andrew. Very thought provoking. I’m imagining a remote hut or an inner city pad on a rented parking space. In most of New Zealand, buildings under 10m2 don’t require a building permit. Of course plumbing would require a permit, but my composting toilet didn’t.
Fascinating design. This could help solve homlessness. Imagine a a housing project with these units that the tenant could rent. Provides low cost housing and pays for itself by selling the energy back to the city. It’s win-win.
I cringe at houses like this, mostly because they are not accessible. I have a 320 square foot house, that does fit two wheelchairs and is energy efficient. Please, as we get into these tiny houses, think about access! (I have chronicled my search for accessible tiny houses –see access a hut.) But surely the hot water heater and under materials did not need such an odd stair step arrangement.