It’s been dubbed the ‘Swiss Army’ micro home, squeezing a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen into just nine square metres. Called the aVoid, would you do just that or could you embrace its minimalist living?
One can just imagine how an estate agent would market the 9 sq m (97 sq ft) that makes up the ‘Swiss Army’ aVoid micro-home. It would probably read something like:
‘Bijou pied-a-terre with all mod-cons and easily maintained garden. Located in a sought-after area with excellent transport links, this quirky home is perfectly suited to the single, first-time buyer. Viewing recommended.’
And they’d be telling the truth. Mostly.
Multifunctional – but micro – space
From the outside, the aVoid looks like it might be a horse box or perhaps one of those trendy food trailers serving up pulled pork baps or smashed avocado on something.
Inside though, there’s everything you need for modern living, including a fold-down bed, a wardrobe, a dining table with seating for four, a kitchenette with a small refrigerator, induction hob and sink, and a bathroom with a shower and composting toilet. There’s even a ladder to access the ‘roof garden’.
It’s just that these features aren’t at all apparent when you first enter. In fact, it looks like an empty space.
Is this the ultimate tiny home?
With the aVoid, you have to tap the bare-white walls to reveal the warm wooden room features hidden behind them. It’s only then that it looks vaguely like somewhere you could rest your head. You then fold these rooms back away again when you aren’t using them.
So, for instance, once you’ve finished cooking and dining, done the washing-up and put everything away, you can tuck the kitchen away, then get out your bedroom for the night. If you’re finding it hard to visualise, watch this video to get the gist:
Costing just £35,000 to build, this ingenious design is the brainchild of Leonardo Di Chiara, in collaboration with Tinyhouse University in Berlin. He says his multifunctional room design was inspired by his tiny childhood bedroom in Italy:
‘I grew up with a minimalistic lifestyle, which certainly influences my design. This is why I started developing transformable furniture where everything can be hidden into the wall surface when it is not in use, having as a result “a void” ready to be used again.’
Micro home living – could you do it?
aVoid is conceived as a terraced house, with windows at the front and back, so that it can be placed alongside other units. And as it’s also on wheels and comes with a tow bar, you could, in theory, up-sticks at any given moment.
Although I admire how innovative the design of aVoid is, I would probably do just that if tasked to actually live in it for any length of time. Just watching the video makes me come over all claustrophobic.
How would you ever manage to entertain? For me, it would mean a complete overhaul of my lifestyle, decluttering and learning to put things away immediately. But I guess that’s the point.
Could you handle living in a micro home?
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