Small-scale housing communities could solve the global problem of urban density and expensive real estate.
By 2050, 70% of the world's population will live in cities, predicts the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. With that many people bound for city life, and the price of housing ever increasing, architects around the world are thinking about new styles of residential living.
In Seoul, South Korea, SsD Architecture has created a new concept for housing with a micro-housing project perfectly suited to high-density city living. The 14 units in the Songpa Micro-Housing project show a model of housing that blurs the line between public and private space, where people may rent or own a tiny apartment with a bedroom and bath as part of a larger complex with communal kitchens, workspaces, and recreational facilities. Each residential unit is its own private enclave, but residents are encouraged to mingle socially with semi-public spaces like hallways with bench seating and shared balconies. The building also contains a cafe, ideal for those without much of a kitchen.
The building was designed to show that dense, small-scale urbanism does not have to compromise quality of life.