Living in 96 sq. ft. of Space

[Snowbird]

Can this be our immediate futures? I'm not sure that I would be terribly unhappy living in a cozy space like this.

Jay Shafer grew up in 4,000 sq.ft. and now lives in 96 sq. ft. He loves his little place so much that he has formed a company that designs and builds these little places for others. He even has a book out.

This reminded me of my favorite bedtime story when I was a teeny tiny person, The Teeny Tiny Woman.

Jay Shafer's Tiny House Company - Small Imprint, Mobility or Simplicity

Tiny houses are receiving tremendous attention today as the curious public searches for more information on these homes and their designer. Jay Shafer is the owner of The Tumble Weed Tiny House Company where customers can buy house plans and build it themselves, or buy a low-cost, ready-made house and have it delivered by truck. Shafer designs and builds the tiny 50-750 square-foot homes himself, many of which are mobile home built on wheels. His company has set a new standard or small house living.

"...His smallest home has 65 square feet; his biggest (a three-bedroom place) has 774 square feet."

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed...-house-company

The Teeny Tiny Woman

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/eft/eft13.htm

[Solphilos]

Looks like my ideal home

Personally, I'm quite comfortable in smaller spaces. Feels more secure, easier to maintain, and just makes better sense economically.

It's kind of ridiculous when we stop and consider how most people these days have fairly large living quarters, large yard, and are so spread out from other people. I live in a former small town that began booming about 9 years ago, and witnessed many square miles of forest destroyed to make room for new communities. How long can this really continue?

[Luke]

It all depends on human involved.
You can design small space very efficiently, but what really matters is 1) Energetic Efficiency, maintenace costs 2) cost of materials 3) how much land is needed to support, cost of the land, taxes 4) what individual feels like.
There are some who think that they need big home, others make their homes big because they use that space. Subtle difference.
And place when everybody will be forced to live in assigned "cubicle" I find hellish one, straight from Stalin's wet dream.
I feel that "what one can afford" is only good solution. And i mean afford in broad sense, including impact on ecosystem.

[Solphilos]

Posted by SaiCO (here)
It all depends on human involved.
You can design small space very efficiently, but what really matters is 1) Energetic Efficiency, maintenace costs 2) cost of materials 3) how much land is needed to support, cost of the land, taxes 4) what individual feels like.
There are some who think that they need big home, others make their homes big because they use that space. Subtle difference.
And place when everybody will be forced to live in assigned "cubicle" I find hellish one, straight from Stalin's wet dream.
I feel that "what one can afford" is only good solution. And i mean afford in broad sense, including impact on ecosystem.

I agree with what your saying, but it is still a disastrous thing for so many people to live the way they are currently, with large homes and spread so far apart. I'm also opposed to a cubicle style housing style, but I think that there is no feasible option with our current way of living. It would take a restructuring of the entirety of society in order to resolve the issue.

A large portion of the problem is that the human race is so divided and fragmented, and society now focuses on the individual, and not the collective. Instead of the community, the tribe, or a nation of peoples, it's a husband, wife and children. That's a large fragmentation, which in turn leads to a larger demand of resources.

This is why the elite speak so much about over-population (among other reasons...), and there given reasons are not unfounded. There are simply too many people for this particular way of doing things.

[Etherios]

what are you guys talking about the last 10 years i have been living ina 54 square meters apartment. If you calculate the walls and furniture it is less than 35-40....

tbh ppl dont need 4k sq.ft to live in... i mean doh...

i think 150-200 Sq meters is the tops a family of 4 (which i think is the majority of families "2 kids") = 3 bedrooms, toilet, kitchen and living room. Humans dont needs anything more.

I a true eco society we should have tops 3-4 floors buildings that will be in the middle of green and with the minimum space for vechiles/roads etc if even that is needed.

How do the US ppl have their homes spread out taking HUGE amounts of space.. well in countries that dont have that much space you can have paterns of flats green flats pools ... i have lived for ever in a flat so for me its normal but i think having more compact ergonomical and big enough to support our living houses and all around them green lands and trees and parks and public baths etc etc you can put your imagination here.

Anyway humans dont need huge empty wasted houses ... only the Egos of some humans need those. Families are lost in big houses ... the bond between the families is lost in them. Ill stop now :-P

[Etherios]

Posted by Solphilos (here)
This is why the elite speak so much about over-population (among other reasons...), and there given reasons are not unfounded. There are simply too many people for this particular way of doing things.

Yes having a dinner that costs 1k dollars and spend enough materials to feed 2 families just to make 3-4 plates of little food is their way of civilized society. Just imagine the garbage our big cities produce and you will understand how much unprodective and wasteful the society is....

Erm we are forgeting something. THIS IS the society they build. The elites didnt find it like this THEY MADE IT LIKE THIS. pff

[Solphilos]

Posted by Etherios (here)
Yes having a dinner that costs 1k dollars and spend enough materials to feed 2 families just to make 3-4 plates of little food is their way of civilized society. Just imagine the garbage our big cities produce and you will understand how much unprodective and wasteful the society is....

Erm we are forgeting something. THIS IS the society they build. The elites didnt find it like this THEY MADE IT LIKE THIS. pff

Of course. The world is their chessboard; they create society, problems occur within their creation, they fix the problem. It's the reason that we cannot hope to make things better by alleviating the symptoms (smaller housing, organic farming, 'green' living, etc..), helpful as they may be, we have to strive to cure the disease. And what is disease? An imbalance of forces; too much of this, too little of that.

But, back to the topic, I still want my little dome earth house like the hobbits on lord of the rings

[Operator]

Posted by Etherios (here)
what are you guys talking about the last 10 years i have been living ina 54 square meters apartment.

54 square meters is much bigger than 96 sq. ft. ...

I live on 56 square meters (outside measurement) for years myself ... for one person that's pretty comfortable, I also lived there a couple of years with 4 people.
That's do-able but not so comfortable ... and of course I am in the tropics with great surrounding environment, it's easier to be outside for a while.

But if you really want minimalism try tracking and camping, everything you need is on your back. Go into the mountains and stay there for a couple of weeks.
I bet you will find out what life really is about ...

[Lost Soul]

Fine for travel, but my library alone would fill it and then some.

[Solphilos]

Posted by Operator (here)
But if you really want minimalism try tracking and camping, everything you need is on your back. Go into the mountains and stay there for a couple of weeks.
I bet you will find out what life really is about ...

Agreed. I think it would be helpful for everyone if they tried outdoor living for at least a few weeks on minimal equipment, with proper training of course. It's mentally and spiritually beneficial to gain such an alternative perspective of things when one is used the comforts and benefits of civilization.