Tiny Zen Living: 8 Foot Square Mobile Cube

[Shankapotomus]

from the article:

"...here's a decidedly Zen-headed mobile living cube by San Francisco-based architecture and interior design firm Spaceflavor, which handily fits an office, bedroom and meditation space into a 8 foot-square footprint."

"The two-storey mobile cube is informed by the feng shui concepts of yin (private/closed) and yang (public/open), a modern Zen-like expression, and by Ming's own daily patterns of meditation, work and study."

full story at treehugger.com

[Curmudgeoness]

1. No way. No thanks.

I could never live in a space that small.

Should I feel guilty????

[awoke_in_2003]

11. I don't think you should...

of course, I am a bit claustrophobic

[struggle4progress]

2. If you're only getting 8 foot square, why waste so much of it on exterior?

[eShirl]

4. it's for people who live where there is no weather

[Kaleva]

6. Be snowbound in a 8, (edit: 64 square) foot cubicle.

[progressoid]

20. That area doubles as the "bedroom"...

I'm not sure where the bed came from.

[eShirl]

3. looks like a lot more than 8 square feet

[struggle4progress]

5. 8 ft sq = 8 ft x 8 ft = 64 sq ft

[awoke_in_2003]

12. When you say "X feet square"...

it is generally taken as each side is X feet long. When you say "X square feet" it is one length times the other, so 8 by 8 would be 64 square feet.

[DRoseDARs]

42. Deceptive article title is deceptive. Your answer is technically correct, but many won't know that.

eom

[PoliticAverse]

49. Good time as any to learn that '8 foot square' isn't '8 square feet'. n/t

[Sherman A1]

7. Cool!

Not for me, but still cool.

[byronius]

8. I could do that.

I lived in a van for a year. There's a certain comfort to smallness.

[yesphan]

9. Where does one

poop ?

[starroute]

10. The cube is inside a loft where the owner gives feng shui classes

So it doesn't need a kitchen or bathroom. It's just meant as private space -- for sleep, study, and meditation -- within the larger public space.

[lunasun]

22. I had a friend who lived in a closet - put some shelving on the sides and roll out bed on bottom

1-2 yrs and then someone else took after he left ( someone lived in it b4 him 2)

[MercutioATC]

47. Depends...

No, really...Depends.

[JDPriestly]

13. An "office," but no books, no records, no plates and saucers, no cups or glasses,

no place to sit with a second person. Looks like a solitary confinement prison cell to me.

[gtar100]

18. Start adding a few of those things and it won't fit the feng shui model anymore.

Great for the person who doesn't actually do anything.

[VWolf]

14. In New York,

that's considered a spacious one-bedroom apartment.

[nikto]

15. This is what the band Genesis warned us about in 1972!! Check it out...

Actually, there's a song written decades ago by GENESIS, just for 2012 in fact,
that may have a solution to just this problem...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_%27Em_Out_by_Friday

[AnneD]

16. Any resemblance to reality....

Is purely coincidental.

YMMV

[Javaman]

17. Fancy outhouse living. nt

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

19. I could be very, very happy ...

with that as my living space.

Tho I would need it to be on a piece of property that would allow me to
grow what I needed to eat. Lets say about a 40' x 50' outside space.

At this time I produce more than enough food for 2 on a space less than that.

Pleasantly placed latrines would give me relief and composting material.

[WestSeattle2]

21. Guess the kids share a bedroom?

[proReality]

23. Uh...which way to the bathroom? n/t

[formercia]

24. Someone will figure out how to make it cost

$2000. per sq.ft.

[Shankapotomus]

25. my thoughts too

i'm just as cynical when it comes to these "brand named" designer manufactured houses. i post them merely for the novelty. maybe someday someone will create something people can actually afford.

[MADem]

29. I like this design better--it has a kitchen and crapper. A bit bigger, though...

[Shankapotomus]

34. Nice find

I like some of their models on their website.

http://mobaltarnovo.com/new/archive.php

They say on their english website: "We can send any of our products world wide."

That would be awesome if they could ship me a house...lol.

Good prices too, I think. Bookmarking for when I get my land in upstate new york.

[MADem]

36. I like the concept of micro homes. As one ages, they make sense.

I enjoy looking at the different ones that come out; it's something I'd consider down the line if I found myself without a need to house and feed others.

It's easier to stay in one's home if it's not a giant barn that is hard to afford.

If you're rich like the RMoneys, it's nothing but a thing to have the elevator repairman out to fix the car elevator, even on a Sunday!

You can buy the plans for their stuff, too and build it yourself if you have a talent!

[xmas74]

38. Ever look at this?

http://www.facebook.com/tinyhousedesign?ref=ts

Lots of ideas of real, usable houses that people already live in and make work. You'd have to build it but there are links to free floor plans and something on here might give you a great idea.

[Shankapotomus]

39. wow...that's a goldmine!

Thank you!

Some houses on there I've seen before but many I have not.

This one is has been one of my favorites for a while:

http://tinyhouseblog.com/tag/innermost-house/

But with all the other ones on that page, that may change soon. Very nice...Thank you.

[xmas74]

40. you're welcome.

I'm just glad that I've found others who are as fascinated with tiny houses as I am!

There's a map out there on one of the sites linked (I don't know where exactly so it'll take some looking). The map shows tiny houses all over North America and gives links to those that allow visitors. I know here in Missouri there is one place that allows visitors-I believe their plan is to eventually build a number of tiny houses on their acreage and turn it into a commune.

I love tiny houses. I want one someday. My favorite so far is this house: http://www.innermosthouse.com/photo.php?pageID=96

Just an incredible house. No electricity but does have cold running water.

(On edit-just saw we linked the same house! My link will take you to the actual website for her house.)

[Shankapotomus]

41. HA!

I was going to say, yea, we linked to the same house. Great minds...

The owner, Diana, really has a handle on the essence of it all. We struggle to have all these modern conveniences, when if we can just scale down our demands, life can be much more manageable.

I eventually want to put something about that size on my land but, for now, I have to scale down my dreams for something smaller but temporary.

I would gladly take something like this (might start a separate thread for it):

http://laughingsquid.com/the-hemloft-a-secret-tree-house-in-the-canadian-woods/

But it will probably be just a highly modified shed, to start with, for me. I don't mind at all, though, as it's what you make of it.

[xmas74]

43. I thought it was the egg house

before I even clicked on the link! Told you I spend far too much time looking at tiny houses.

And you're right, this could be an entire new thread.

Speaking of sheds: have you seen this?
http://www.tinyhousetalk.com/how-to-turn-your-barn-or-shed-into-a-livable-tiny-house/

[Shankapotomus]

44. That looks like another

good tiny home blog. Never saw that one before or the post.

Have to check it out closer tomorrow....right now i'm drifting off....

good nighty for now....

i'll leave you with another one of my favorites:

http://www.olsonkundigarchitects.com/Projects/140/Tye-River-Cabin

[longship]

26. Your Feng shui is lousy

Looks like a fucking prison cell. Where is the water boarding station?

And stupid Feng shui? That made up rubbish made this up? I'd go mad without a shelf full of books. So where do I put them?

Oh! I see. It's zen, which is inner reflection. Fuck that. I want to read. I want music in my life. I want room for company to visit.

This thing isn't anything but a recipe for madness.

But it's Feng shui!!!!!!
Fuck those phonies.

[Shankapotomus]

27. LOL

I actually agree. I just had no bias when posting it.

Personally, I would need Nature around me and the "ergonomics" of the box don't work for me either. It has the blandness and warmth of a utility box.

[demwing]

28. Read? Listen to Music?

get a Kindle and an IPod. Problem solved.

Don't like Fengshui? Fuckit. Paint the thing black and put a big velvet Elvis on the wall. Problem solved.

Don't like inner reflection? Great. Put mirrors on the outside. Outer reflection! Problem solved.

Want company to visit you? Use the outside, they'll never spill drinks on your rug. If it's raining, meet at the local donut shop. Dunkins has free WiFi. Problem solved


But all silliness aside...you have a problem with inner reflection? Really?

[MADem]

30. Mitt Romney's Bain Capital owns Dunkin Donuts--I won't give them a dime!

Dunkins used to be a place where the Donuts were made fresh every four hours, 24 hours a day, and the coffee was made fresh every eighteen minutes. They used to have a commercial with a hapless guy "Fred the Baker" (played brilliantly by the late actor, Michael Vale) who would whine "Time to make the DOUGH-----nuts!!!" that cracked people up and was used as a punch line in a variety of situations.

Bain took Dunkins, and turned it from a 'donut' shop that anchored neighborhoods into minature blight-inducing storefronts and adjuncts to gas stations, where the donuts are stale, the coffee is rancid, everything is prepackaged, nothing is cooked, and heroin addicts meet with their dealers to buy drugs while hiding in plain sight.

[demwing]

32. I didn't know Bain owned Dunkin

but my god, what fucking Dunkin shop do you live near? The one near me has the best coffee ever. Coffee house quality. The donuts rock, and they cook everything onsite.

And as far as I cant tell, no heroin anywhere.

Maybe it's just your neighborhood. Maybe you should move...just sayin'

[MADem]

33. You must be one of the lucky ones. Most of those donut outlets with the "Dunkin" name on them are

crap and the donuts are not cooked in them.

They also own STAPLES, Baskin Robbins, TOTES (the umbrellas and shit you get for a holiday gift from people who don't know what to get you), Burger King, a massive chunk of the supply end of Home Depot, and a shitload of other commercial/financial interests.

It's sick how deep their reach is--they are greedy fucks. They do everything they can to wring the "good" out of companies, to strip out the quality and reduce the product to the minimally acceptable dreck that people will pay for--and that's if they keep 'em running. Often, they'll buy a company, break it up into bits, fire the employees, raid the pension fund, and sell off the pieces and walk away. They are assholes, greedy, horrible assholes. I avoid them to the extent I am able.

Have a look at this--it will make you sick: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bain_Capital

[cbayer]

35. I live in a very small space, but not nearly that small.

I like having dinner parties too much to get down to that.

[Skittles]

45. I have to have room to exercise

I exercise at home

[cbayer]

46. I do Wii exercise because I can do it in such a small space.

Since it puts a lot of emphasis on balance, this can be challenging on a boat, but I like the program.

[MrScorpio]

37. Wha - No jacuzzi?

[guardian]

48. I think I have seen this design before

Except the space below has more square feet:

[Shankapotomus]

50. LOL!

I missed this. Good one!