Tomorrow night millions of Americans and even more people around the globe will gather around their television sets, iPads, laptops, and even phones, to watch the opening ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. What they probably won’t see though or pay much attention to are the venues and accommodations, and infrastructure built to support the influx of athletes, trainers, coaches, and more. Among them is a very impressive and eco-friendly tiny house!
At just 213 sq.ft., the tiny house was designed and built by The Plus Partners and DNC Architects to host visitors to events based in the Gangneung area. Nicknamed the “Tiny House of Slow Town”, The gabled house features a living room with ample windows for ambient light and airiness, a bathroom, a kitchenette, and a sleeping loft! While the exterior is a rather drab black, the interior has beautiful warm, wood paneling.
It is incredible to see the thoughtfulness that has gone into this tiny house as it really does bring attention two walls of oversized windows (thereby expanding the feeling of the space) and a clever alternating tread staircase that doubles as storage space. Because the roofline is so steep it also allows for generous headroom in the sleeping loft.
One item of note is that the home looks perfectly natural in the area’s natural landscapes which include water features, footbridges, and sculptured trees. It was built with modular, eco-friendly materials in order to leave a minimal environmental impact.
Like many Olympic host cities before it, the South Korean host province Gangwon may lack sufficient room for all of the athletes and games attendees. The “Slow Town” initiative and introduction of Tiny Houses may very well serve to provide more sustainable housing during the event for more people. Because Gangwon, the host province of the Games, may lack sufficient accommodation for the anticipated influx of visitors, the “Slow Town” initiative also included plans to design additional small wooden residences like this one to provide sustainable housing during the event.
If successful an initiative such as this could show the benefit of small and tiny houses across the global landscape. While many think that building up is the only way to accommodate dense populations designs like the “Tiny House of Slow Town” show that smaller footprints with clever design and better use of gabled space could, in fact, be the answer!
What do you think? Could these tiny houses really solve some housing situations? Will they prove a worthwhile endeavor? Will we ever hear about them again? Does the “Tiny House of Slow Town” deserve the Gold or the Silver or will they fade into obscurity? Let us know in the comments below.
