This tiny home is just 13 feet wide – but still has as much space as the average London house
Ryan Hogg
- This London home is just 13 feet wide, but its clever design makes it feel much larger inside.
- The Library cost about $400,000 to build, with locally sourced materials used throughout.
Many people will not love the idea of living in a home where they can almost touch both walls.
However, a new home in east London that was shortlisted for a prestigious UK architecture award shows how to make the most of a small space – squeezing in everything you'd expect to find in the process.
Take a look inside The Library House.
Despite being just 4 meters (13 feet) wide, The Library House's clever design means it's still the same size as the average London home at 84 square meters (904 square feet).
The front of the house dramatically shifts design a quarter of the way along, with white brickwork complementing the Victorian home to its right while a rusty steel feature melts into the library on the home's left.
The property was shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) prestigious House of the Year awards and won the RIBA London Award 2022
The white bricks cost 67p each. Architect James Macdonald Wright said he went for slimmer bricks to keep a contemporary feel.
Architect James MacDonald Wright bought the site in 2009, but didn't begin building anything on it for another decade.
Macdonald Wright spent £340,000 (about $410,000) on construction, a relatively low sum for a property in London.
Macdonald Wright Architects located the curved staircase in the middle of the home, rather than at the front, to open up the entrance and cope best with the narrow width.
Relocating the stairs allowed the kitchen to be located at the front. Much of the interior is made from locally sourced wood, which was handcrafted by carpenters.
Most of the materials were locally sourced too, reducing the project's carbon footprint.
The windows are triple-glazed, and the the house has solar panels, reducing its energy demands. That's important at a time when the cost of electricity and natural gas for heating have soared. There are two double bedrooms on the first floor, both with fitted wardrobes, as well as a full bathroom.
But for those partial to the cold, the garden area has an open-air shower for a brisk wakeup call.
Homes in London are in short supply, with construction and completions nosediving in the last two years, per Savills. Macdonald Wright hopes this relatively inexpensive, sustainable approach to homebuilding will be a template that others can follow.
"In summary, divine!" RIBA judges wrote about the house.
Source: Savills
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