A Small House is a tribute to the endless artistic inventiveness of architects and ingenuity of perception of the familiar and known concepts. It is also a conscious pivot towards sustainability and reduction of impact on the environment as well as a daring attitude of change in lifestyle. As humanity faces inevitable pressures such as climate change, an increase in population, and strain on resources, these solutions are helping shape what the world may look like in the future.
Photo: © Taschen
Whether in the dense urban areas of Tokyo, the wilderness of Australia, the woods of Canada, or a rooftop in Ecuador, this is the world of Small Houses, 80 examples of which were recently presented in a fascinating book from the Taschen Verlag.
Japanese architect Takeshi Hosaka tries out living in limited space for himself and lives in Tokyo’s Love2 House in just 19 square metres. Photo: © Taschen
The one common point they share, is that they all have an area of no more than 100 square meters. Spanning 25 countries such as Brazil, Hungary, South Korea, Netherlands, USA, Japan, and Australia, described here there are houses designed by 57 architects, including Takeshi Hosaka’s Love2 House, Aranza de Ariño’s Casa Tiny, and the work of Jakub Szczęsny, Charles Pictet, Lada Hršak, BIG, and Fran Silvestre, among others. This is a journey not only through recent evolutions in architectural design and creativity, but it is also a step toward a more sustainable world.
About the Author
Philip Jodidio studied art history and economics at Harvard and edited Connaissance des Arts for over 20 years. His TASCHEN books include the Architecture Now! series and monographs on numerous major architects, including Norman Foster, Tadao Ando, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel, and Zaha Hadid.
About the Book “Small Houses”
Taschen-Verlag summarises the content of the book “Small Houses” thus: “Get closer and discover the world’s finest selection of petite architecture. Including the work of Alphaville, Olson Kundig, BIG, Aranza de Ariño, Takeshi Hosaka, and MAPA, this diverse collection of small but delicate houses proves that 100 square meters is plenty of room for intelligent and responsible building. Dream big—build small.”
In Seoul, Smaller Architects constructed the Seroro House, a modernist tower house in which a married couple lives on 66 square metres spread over five floors. Photo: © Taschen
Hardcover, 24.6 x 37.2 cm, 3.41 kg, 424 pages, to order online at the Taschen Verlag
