Housing prices got you down?

[JODO 2]

Living in a box

An eight-foot aluminium box is being touted as the solution to the housing shortage. But what's it like to sleep, eat, wash and entertain in one? BBC News's Rajesh Mirchandani did just that.

I've brought a cat, to see if I can swing it. I can. It's stuffed - the cat, that is - so don't worry.

Even Paris Hilton's prison cell is bigger than this, although I doubt it had as many mod cons. Just old lags.

The sleek lines on the outside of my cube house are repeated within. It has a futuristic, ordered look about it, tastefully done in shades of calming grey.

The front door leads straight into a combined shower/toilet cubicle which poses a few interesting logistical questions, but ultimately can save time (although I end up brushing my teeth in the kitchen sink, unwilling to perform this ablution in such close proximity to the privy).

Three steps takes me from the front door to the back of the house, where the kitchen is compact and very usable. Just don't try and fit too many items into the tiny fridge.

The rest of the house is a geometric labyrinth of drawers, shelves and folding panels which turn into bed frames and seats, and which all disappear under the floor or into the wall, giving more storage options.

There's a nifty dining table which pulls out from under some drawers: very clever but I'm not sure I'd want to manoeuvre it in and out every day. The bed pulls down from the wall into a comfortable sleeping area that's not at all cramped.

I don't feel claustrophobic at any time - even with 12 guests round for a party. Not a world record attempt, just a test to see if you really can lead a normal life here. Twelve, I realise, is perhaps four too many for such a small space. Which is, ahem, the first time I've found myself too popular.

Pied-a-terre

Once the guests leave, it's a real pleasure to potter around (admittedly with everything within arm's reach), under the soothing glow of the low energy lights, in my well-insulated cocoon.

It's a very tranquil place but at the same time it's a bit of an adventure - there's always something to slide out or under, pull down, tuck away, generally fiddle with, if only out of the need for space. To live here you have to be ordered: to do one thing, you have to finish another first and put it away. And that may be my and other compact-livers' downfall.

Two of my party guests, students both, thought it was cool for parties but that they had too much "stuff" to be able to live here. Would a key worker, at whom these pods are aimed, not be in the same position?

At £50,000 (fully installed and functioning), it could be a starter home for someone struggling with today's house prices, but a better option might be a crash-pad for someone who works five days a week in one location and goes home at the weekend. Affordable housing is again a key issue of our times. As the architect told me, living in an eight-foot cube isn't for everyone, but it may be for some.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6733385.stm

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Oh, this idea is quite well known in Philly--three boxes (bottom with the privy, middle with kitchen, top empty) with ladders and you have a "trinity".

[Jackie&Yosdani 0]

Wow!!

[Dr_LHA 3]

I've brought a cat, to see if I can swing it. I can. It's stuffed - the cat, that is - so don't worry.

Silly BBC person. The "Cat" referred to by that phrase is a Cat O' Nine Tails whip, not an actual cat!

Edited June 8, 2007 by Dr_LHA

[GaryC 7]

Not much different than camping in a small RV. Better than being outside!

[almaty 19]

i like it..i like small places like that.....i

[MichelleandCraig 1]

I don't think so.... ...then again (and I'm not being sarcastic here) to a homeless person it would probably be fantastic! All in the perspective, I guess...we're lucky enough to be a spoiled society. M.