Tiny House
A set of small modular buildings - 5, 10 and 20 square metres, that can be built in a backyard, beside a house or on open land.
The units were designed for Belgium, where planning rules allow small garden buildings without a full building permit. That made backyard offices, studios and guest rooms a practical way for households to add space without extending the main house.
Three units, 5, 10 and 20 m² · render
Each unit is a small timber-framed building with a pitched roof, raised off the ground on short steel legs. It can be put up in a garden or beside an existing house, and taken down and moved later. Every size has a mezzanine floor under the roof, so the floor area is used twice.
The three sizes suit different uses. The 5 m² unit works as a home office or a recording studio. The 10 m² unit can be a guest room, a reading room or a small library. The 20 m² unit is a home in its own right, with a living area, kitchen, bathroom and a sleeping loft above.
The structure stays the same while the outer skin changes. Units can be clad in timber, zinc sheet, galvanised iron, dark metal panels or mirrored panels that reflect the trees around them. Because the frame, cladding and fit-out are separate, the same unit can be adapted to other climates and building rules. It can use local materials, sit on stilts on a slope, or be grouped into a small cluster with a shared deck.
5 m²: Work
A single room with a desk, storage along one wall and a small loft. It suits a home office, a studio or a practice room.
10 m²: Stay
Room for a bed or a reading corner below, with storage or sleeping space in the loft. It suits a guest room, a library or a retreat.
20 m²: Live
A full small home with a kitchen wall, bathroom, sofa and work desk downstairs, and a double bed in the loft.
Dark metal cladding · Timber cladding
Dark metal cladding · Timber cladding
Exploded view of the 20 m² unit
Layered Build
The unit is built in layers: a floor deck on steel legs, a timber frame, an outer skin and a roof. Because the layers are separate, the cladding and the interior fit-out can change without changing the structure. The legs keep the floor off damp ground and need only small footings, so the unit can sit on a slope or be lifted off and moved.
Plans · Section · Elevation
20 m² interior with the sofa and kitchen wall.
Inside, the walls are kept white with warm timber floors, and storage is built into the walls so the floor stays clear. The pitched roof gives height above the mezzanine, and the full-height glazing at the gable end brings light deep into the room.
Flexible use · Office room and Studio room
Flexible use · Office room and Studio room
Units adapt to different climatic contexts based on the material of choice
A design study for a modular unit family. Drawings and renders are complete for all three sizes. Alongside the design, we developed the marketing material for the units. This included the renders, the exploded drawings and the walkthrough video used to present the three sizes to buyers.
Credits: Design: Eden Bhutia, with Architenko, Belgium
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