Generally speaking a home needs to have a place to sleep, eat and groom. Beyond that, everything else is just extraneous. That’s why Japanese designers Jo Nagasaka and Schemata Architecture Office teamed up to design and build this prototype Paco Unit. Their vision was to produce a new portable, compact, and independent unit that contained only the things that a person needed to live, maybe not comfortably, but practically.

The Paco Unit measures 3 x 3 x 3 meters, for a little less than 100 sq feet of living space. Japanese designers really do have a penchant for small houses, like the recent Tea House. A kitchen unit with a sink stands in one corner. A dining table can be pulled out of the floor to seat two people. The toilet is hidden in the floor; by hooking a shower curtain to the ceiling, you can take a shower under it’s canopy with the hand-held shower head. And for sleeping, simply hook your hammock to either side of the box and dream away. There’s even an extra compartment on the outside, just big enough for a guest and their sleeping bag, or you can use it as storage space.

The unit opens and closes for views of your surroundings, or the stars at night. There are no windows and not even a traditional door to speak of, making the outside of the unit structurally sound. The Paco was envisioned as a home that could be placed in any setting, whether outside in a forest, on the beach, or used as temporary housing in a warehouse or city. The units could even be used for emergency housing. Paco is currently on display in Meguro, Tokyo this month. Our only question is, how do you get in?

+ Schemata Architecture Office

via Treehugger and Design Boom

One Response to “PREFAB FRIDAY: Tiny Portable Paco Unit Home”

Shropshire Architect says:

April 1, 2009 at 9:03 am

I like this design, particularly the outside images, which suggest the cube can fit in anywhere. The inside is cool and simple too!