Micro Living: A Hybridization of Practicality and Style

Cities within the United States and across the world are growing in population. While a variety of inherently positive factors such as economic opportunities and diverse cultures are enriching the lives of urban residents, this continued increase in population is creating a new problem. Living space is finite, especially in major regions and metropolises where there is a scarcity of land available for residential development.

Popularity of micro apartments around the world: Shoebox apartment in Beirut, XS House in Taiwan, El Camarin in Argentina

Unfortunately, an oversupply of luxury housing and a lack of affordable alternatives leave people unable to live according to their financial and family needs. Thankfully, a potential solution may enable more people to reside in these sprawling urban areas while living within their means — "micro" or mini living.

WHAT IS MICRO LIVING?

A home is more than merely a house. For many people, their home includes their community and the ways they interact with their town, city or region. Many large urban areas contain a diverse blend of the businesses and resources residents need and want. Although more affordable housing may be available in the suburbs or farther out of city limits, living so far from the heart of an area often means living without access to valuable resources and amenities. 

The phrases "tiny house" and "mini living" are becoming more popular as homeowners consider the advantages of micro living. Generally, micro homes are defined globally as small homes that are either self-contained or possess shared amenities. Unlike dormitories, micro pads and tiny houses are specifically designed to facilitate compact full-home living.

Living small may be a more prominent discussion today, but it has already been a topic of conversation in many large metropolises over the last two centuries. For instance, New York City is no stranger to the concept of micro living. In the 1800s, the Big Apple's population grew more than 600 percent. Compare that to the growth over the last forty years at approximately 3 percent — small squatters' shacks were built and shantytowns appeared. Eventually, tenement apartments replaced the shantytowns, giving residents an average of 300 feet of space.

Today, New York City no longer has tenement apartments. Instead, many of their studio apartments are micro-units that range just below 400 square feet. The idea of micro-apartments and micro-condos range from coast to coast, with some urban areas embracing this movement as a natural evolution of the urban landscape. Three significant benefits make micro living an appealing alternative to many adults:

Lower Costs: A huge draw for micro living is the immediate decrease in monthly, annual and even daily expenditures. Renting a mini apartment is often much more affordable than a full-sized apartment, even in major urban environments. Utility expenses are also lowered, as the amount of electricity and water needed for the home is substantially less than an average apartment or house. 

Less Clutter: Micro living means minimizing your possessions. With such limited space, residents are forced to be critical of what objects they want and need to keep. Everything from furniture to collectibles must be weighed against other items to determine which will come into the home. A smaller space also means there is no need to spend money on decor or furniture to fill out the entire home.

More Manageable: The lack of space may at first seem like a lack of convenience, but many people enjoy the smaller space because it is easier to maintain. Along with fewer objects in the home, there's also less space that requires continuous cleaning.

Television shows, news articles and word of mouth are all driving the tiny house movement. Although the typical American currently prefers a larger home, it remains to be seen if micro living will grow in popularity and potentially become a burgeoning new way of life that overcomes the problems many homeowners and renters face in large urban environments.

Micro Apartment Design in Competitions

Micro living presents several challenges structurally and logistically. Designing a space with the bare minimum necessities is a feat — even before attempting to also include the amenities essential to the everyday lifestyles of many individuals. Though there are micro apartments throughout the world, mini architecture and micro housing units are still far from perfect. As new problems are identified, designers from all parts of the globe hope to offer practical solutions.

One way the mini lifestyle continues moving forward is through international housing design competitions. These competitions encourage designers to consider the lifestyle needs of urban residents and design functional micro living spaces to facilitate the future spatial and financial needs of a growing population. For example, one micro apartment competition in New York City known as adAPT challenges designers to create living spaces between 250 and 370 square feet. The winner of a 2013 challenge had their design integrated into a 55-unit building in the Big Apple.

Micro apartment design competitions: adAPT winner – My Micro NY, Dezeen + MINI Living Initiative Winner – The Kentish Classic by The D*Haus Company, London

The MINI Living Future Urban Home Competition is another competition that celebrates the creative use of space in a mini lifestyle, specifically in micro living. The contest seeks to cultivate innovative micro living solutions that respond to the potential challenges big cities and urban spaces will face decades from now. One entry elevated micro living to a new level by suggesting small flying houses, while another purposed small, cocoon-like dwellings that were constructed with environmentally friendly and sustainable materials like bioplastic fibers.

These competitions continue to bring new and innovative ideas into the world of micro living. In some ways, the core premise of micro apartment design is a competition in itself — create a viable global housing solution that's stylish, convenient and practical, and addresses the diverse needs of men and women living mini lifestyles in their unique ways.

MICRO APARTMENTS AROUND THE WORLD

Micro living is gaining support around the world. Lower rent, centralized locations and the opportunity for independent living within some of the world's best cities are incredibly appealing alternatives to the current majority of living spaces in popular urban environments. It comes as no surprise, then, that micro housing units are innovating the ways people live in some of the largest metropolitan places across the globe:

Micro dwellings around the world: 18m² living capsule in Hong Kong, Ququri micro apartment in Tokyo, SRO in New York City

Los Angeles: In Los Angeles, there are very few micro housing units. However, it's believed that these innovative spaces would help with the housing crisis. City officials in Santa Monica, for instance, are offering incentives for designers to build micro apartments that are readily affordable for those with lower incomes. By eliminating parking from micro housing units located near transit centers, the rent would be considerably lower while keeping the dense population in areas where they can rely on walking, biking or public transportation to move around.

Japan: In Japan, mini architecture designers are taking advantage of oddly-shaped spaces to develop micro housing units. Some micro apartments are using vertical space instead of wider rooms. For instance, there are many single-occupant rooms with a small area on the ground and a ladder leading up to a loft with a bed. By using out-of-the-box designs such as constructing a home in a nontraditional shape, residents have an affordable and practical space to live in that is also unique and aesthetically appealing. 

Hong Kong: Micro living in Hong Kong is pushed to its limit with the availability of nano apartments. With no legal minimum amount of space required for each unit, these spaces can fall well below 100 square feet. Due to overcrowding and the high cost of traditional apartments, these nano apartments are the only affordable housing options for some Hong Kong residents. Thousands more are being constructed, and they are among the smallest micro apartments in the world.

New York City: One of the most desirable cities in the world, Manhattan is home to one-bedroom apartments that can reach above $3,000 per month. As rent rises in New York City, SROs (single-room occupancy homes) — created before their prohibition in 1955 — enable New Yorkers to live close to the heart of the city in quarters that cater to their budgets. Many of these small spaces offer close proximity to mass transit services, landmarks and city resources that expensive apartments can't provide from farther away.

MINI APARTMENT DESIGN AND MINI ARCHITECTURE

Traditional spaces have the luxury of many options for function and aesthetics. The most significant challenge in micro housing design is trying to blend an individual's necessities and desires into a functional yet presentable space of only a few hundred square feet. Mini apartment design approaches, and mini architecture techniques, both attempt to provide the most versatile living space possible. 

Micro apartment design may differ from tiny house designs in a few small but significant ways. Micro housing units built together may share similar designs. Due to building codes or local laws, micro apartment buildings may need to meet specific requirements regarding furnishings or functionality. These challenges inspire industrial designers to create solutions that combine the style and practicality needed for mini lifestyles, including:

Creative Storage: Although many people following a mini lifestyle tend to limit their possessions, they still have a significant number of items that they need access to every day. To prevent the space from feeling cluttered, designers create storage areas that are either hidden or tucked away from the main living space.

Visual Space: Perceived space is just as important as physical space. Mini apartment designers use windows, mirrors and lighting to make these small spaces feel bigger and brighter. 

Multipurpose Function: Because space is severely limited, every item within a mini apartment must be necessary. One way designers maximize every aspect of the room is by integrating design elements that serve multiple needs. For instance, a bed can either be built with storage underneath, be folded up into a cabinet like a Murphy bed to increase space or be converted into a sofa or table space when not in use. Items that serve multiple purposes maximize the space they use.

Nontraditional Features: In a mini apartment design, every element of the space must be considered. Some designers take advantage of raised ceilings to increase the overall viable space in the room. Lofts can be created to provide adequate sleeping space that doesn't interfere with the floor space.

Micro apartment designers need to make the most of whatever space is available. Micro housing units that include kitchenettes or bathrooms within each unit need to design these amenities to be complete but compact. By integrating multipurpose furnishings, creatively incorporating storage solutions, increasing the perceived space and utilizing vertical space, designers can use these mini architecture techniques to design micro apartments that are functional, versatile mini lifestyle homes.

THE PROBLEMS WITH MINI LIFESTYLES

Micro apartments are not without problems. Although micro living offers a number of benefits over traditional housing — to cater to smaller budgets and simpler lifestyles — all lifestyles and living accommodations inherently have their share of drawbacks. The micro lifestyle continues to move forward, but many others consider micro apartments very unappealing due to their limitations.

Less Space: Naturally, smaller homes will have less physical space for storage, living and entertaining. Depending on the number of individuals in the house, their ages and their unique needs, a micro apartment may not be ideal. Children and adolescents, for example, may not have the space they need to play, have guests over or devote time to their homework. Micro lifestyles may be perfect for single individuals, but it may be a substantial logistical inconvenience for growing families.

Legal Issues: Not all cities and municipalities are fond of micro lifestyles. While some tiny house owners will have trouble building their homes in certain states, those seeking micro apartments may be unable to find them in various urban settings. Many cities outlawed micro apartments nearly half of a century ago and still uphold regulations or ordinances that prohibit them. 

Health Concerns: There are also potential health hazards associated with micro living. In addition to fire hazards or other physical health risks of living with others in a small space, a micro lifestyle may also put you at risk for psychological issues. Children and adults may feel psychologically constrained in areas where they do not have adequate privacy or room to move. Even the time needed to complete extra steps like folding up furniture can create a psychological strain for some.

A mini lifestyle may be perfect for an individual or a couple, but the fact that micro living is not prevalent in every city creates another problem. Due to the needs of their careers, education or families, some individuals living in micro housing units may need to relocate to another area that does not provide access to micro apartments. This could force people to make lifestyle changes that do not align with their preferences or cater to their financial needs.

A MINI WAY OF LIFE

Mini living is a hybridization of practicality and style. Although these small spaces are built to include amenities like household appliances and feature convenient tools like folding or collapsible furniture, mini architecture focuses on much more than just function. Aesthetics are also a priority in micro apartment design. As micro living grows in popularity, these alternative living spaces need to be designed to cater to the diverse needs of urban inhabitants.

Like any other form of housing or lifestyle choice, micro living does present a series of obstacles and challenges. Legal issues and scarcity of available micro housing units make some urban areas difficult or impossible to live in. Potential health concerns or the general lack of space for possessions, guests or movement can be significant inconveniences to those who don't like the idea of micro living.

Design and architecture are at the core of the micro lifestyle. These two crucial elements are key to successfully creating micro spaces that cater to the physical and psychological needs of a changing society. At Y Studios, we're fascinated by the way mini architecture and mini product designs enhance our society. Connect with us today to discover how our culturally-driven design approach creates new ways of engaging and interacting with the world around you.

Banner Image Credit: Budapest flat by Position Collective, photograph by Balázs Glódi