How much space does a human need? According to Derek Diedricksen, not a helluva lot. The family backyard of the carpenter and young father is dotted with tiny structures — the biggest of which measures a paltry 24 square feet — that serve as sleeping cabins and hangout zones.
Built from scavenged materials, the little buildings are imaginative excercises in “micro-architecture.” What they lack in size they more than make up for in playfulness and ingenuity. One sports a porthole-style window made from the door on a trashed washing machine; another’s floor is a single wooden pallet; on several, transparent roofing allows views of the treetops overhead.
Homes you can’t stand up in aren’t likely to start replacing oversized suburban houses anytime soon, but, if nothing else, Diedricksen’s micro-shelters teach us how to do more with less.
For more on Diedricksen’s puny architecture, check out his Youtube series, “Tiny Yellow House,” or his book, “Humble Homes Simple Shacks Cozy Cottages Ramshackle Retreats Funky Forts.”
(via NYT)
Photos: Erik Jacobs/NYT