The Skinny Minihouse is a Study in Low-Impact Urban Housing in Germany

Posted By Tafline Laylin On October 12, 2011 @ 10:05 am In Architecture | No Comments

• Tweet ^[1]
• Share on Tumblr ^[2]
• Email ^[3]

 

^{[4]  [5]}

Faced with a dense urban environment, Drexler Guinand Gaussian Architects ^[6] chose to design this super skinny home on a tiny 29 square meter plot in Germany. After developing a sophisticated software program that mapped out how to minimize the project's use of construction materials and energy, the firm conceived the Minihouse in Frankfurt as a prototype for efficient urban housing.

  ^[5]

^[7]

European cities are becoming increasingly crowded, so creative measures need to be taken to maximize urban density ^[8] without making people stir crazy. By building a tall and thin prototype with clever use of lighting and space, Drexler Guinand Jauslin Architects managed to pack 660 m³ of building volume onto a teensy 29 square meter plot.

Lofty ceilings, rafters, and skylights, along with tall high performance windows ^[9], give the industrial-chic home a sense of expansive freedom without gobbling up a lot of natural resources or energy, and responsibly sourced timber with a low embodied energy footprint was used throughout. This is a simple project that nonetheless acts as an excellent example of how to achieve urban densification and strong, healthy aesthetics.

+ Drexler Guinand Jauslin Architects ^[6]

Via Architizer ^[10]

Article printed from Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building: http://inhabitat.com

URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/the-skinny-minihouse-is-a-study-in-low-impact-urban-housing-in-germany/

URLs in this post:

[1] Tweet: http://twitter.com/share

[2] Share on Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/share

[3] Email: mailto:?subject=http://inhabitat.com/the-skinny-minihouse-is-a-study-in-low-impact-urban-housing-in-germany/

[4]

[5]  : http://inhabitat.com/the-skinny-minihouse-is-a-study-in-low-impact-urban-housing-in-germany/minihouse-drexler-4/?extend=1

[6] Drexler Guinand Gaussian Architects: http://www.dgj.ch/project-types/minihouse-i-minimum-impact-house.html

[7] Image: http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/10/Minihouse-Drexler-4.jpg

[8] maximize urban density: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_density

[9] high performance windows: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_insulation

[10] Architizer: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/minihouse-i-minimum-impact-house/30579/

Click here to print.