Tiny Footprint: A Prefab Home for Two, in 183 Square Feet

How simply do you want to live? The question prompted South African architect Clara da Cruz Almeida to design a 183-square-foot prefab house–for two people to share. “You can learn to live without excess things,” she says.

Her Life Pod, manufactured in Johannesburg, arrives on site in a flatpack ready to be assembled. Designers Dokter and Misses created clever interior spaces–with a micro-kitchen, folding furniture, and an enviable amount of storage–to make the tiny peaked house feel like a sanctuary. Come on in.

Photography via Pod Idladla.

Above: Folding concertina doors allow indoor and outdoor spaces to merge. The deck is furnished with collapsible chairs and Ronel Jordann’s hand-felted wool Boulder Cushions.

“With a tiny house you need to get out, to live in society–go to the theater, go to the movies, interact with other people,” says the architect. “It’s about making life simpler.”

Above: Of the interior space, Katy Taplin of Dokter and Misses says: “It needed to be very calm. We chose to keep the interior predominantly white with accents of mint green and gray.”

The little kitchen feels spacious because it’s under a pitched roof. Predominant materials are plywood, powder-coated steel, and stainless steel (used on the counters).

Above:”The idea is for the owners to display their items on the wall-mounted storage. It was also important to include as much enclosed storage as possible, to avoid clutter,” says Taplin.

Above: A ladder leads to a sleeping loft. Clever design details including a folding sofa and folding table give the space flexibility to function in different ways.

“The reason the roof is pitched is to maximize solar potential–more space is created to attach solar panels,” says Adriaan Hugo of Dokter and Misses.

Above: Light switches and outlets are from US company Legrand.

Above: Exterior metal cladding was supplied by Cupric Tectonics of Pretoria. Each prefab pod is built to order and can range from a shell to a fully kitted-out structure; see more at Pod Idlala.

For more of our favorite diminutive living quarters, see:

Just trying to clean up? see Carmella’s 7-Step Plan to Clutter-Free Living.