Can a house that costs just $10,000 be comfortable, durable, spacious and safe" What if you go on to say that it?s so easy to build, it takes just 24 hours and a hex key, with no other tools required" At this point, most of us are envisioning something cheap and temporary that, at the very minimum, won?t be nice to look at. Bringing all these factors together into a modern, minimalist home featuring high ceilings and skylights and handily installing it on a crammed urban lot sounds like a pipe dream.
But People?s Architecture Office (PAO) proves it?s possible with a stunningly sharp-looking residence on a postage stamp plot in China. Like the firm?s previous ?plugin houses?, which were designed to modernize dilapidated traditional Chinese courtyard houses without requiring extensive renovations, this residence slots into an alleyway to contrast with pre-existing structures.
Real estate prices in Beijing are so high, young people who want to be financially independent from their parents face a steep uphill climb to home ownership. PAO?s client, Mrs. Fan, grew up in the historic Changchun Jie Hutong neighborhood and wasn?t crazy about the sprawling feel of the suburbs when her family moved there in her teen years. She preferred the close-knit community feeling of her urban home, even through the infrastructure was outdated.
Plugin House costs thirty times less than a typical apartment in Beijing, with energy efficiency and a standard of living that rivals or excee...