The Winning Architects Behind NYC’s Microunits

• March 1, 2013

by Shilpi Paul

Rendering courtesy NYC Mayor’s office.

Like many others, UrbanTurf have been closely following Bloomberg’s adAPT NYC project, a competition to design, construct and operate the city’s first micro-unit apartment building. The winners were announced in January, bringing the dream of a cool, livable micro-unit closer to being a reality.

Rendering inside a micro-unit. Courtesy of NYC Mayor’s office.

For those who want more details on how the design came about, the New York Times just published an interview with the married architects behind the winning design.

Inspired by their time living together in a tenement, Mimi Hoand and Eric Bunge of nArchitects created a design that will make a very small space — the apartments will range from 250 to 370 square feet — desirable.

The floorplan

From the Times:

“At first blush we weren’t so sure about entering,” Mr. Bunge said, “because we felt people should have more space than this. But that was before we understood that the alternatives out there are far worse. There are people living together in substandard apartments all over the city who would prefer to live alone but can’t afford to. So we said, ‘Wait a minute, let’s make a humane small space where people would want to live.’ ”

Features include 10-foot ceilings, extensive overheard storage, glass doors that open to a balcony, and a living room that turns into a bedroom at night. Armed with memories of contorting themselves to fit into a tiny space between a toilet and sink, Hoand and Bunge created a relatively spacious bathroom. The building also will have a rooftop terrace.

Construction on the project will start by the end of 2013.

Similar Posts:

• Is DC Ready For 275-Square Foot Housing?
• 320-Square Foot Apartments Coming to 9th Street
• Is This What DC Micro-Units Will Look Like?

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_winning_architects_behind_nycs_microunits/6730