Mini Apartments and Next-Wave Prefab, Part 1
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Here's the original project site in Berkeley, California, which was intended for student housing. Later, the developers purchased a site in San Francisco, anticipating a higher demand for micro-units in that city—where, after all, 41 percent of the population are single people living on their own. -
This is an early rendering of the rear elevation of the Berkeley project, designed by Taeko Takagi, Zeta Communities’ in-house architect. Like the final version, this was conceived as a prefab multi-unit building. -
Early conceptual renderings of the units ended up pretty close to the final version, and included plenty of storage space and convertible built-in furniture. -
This photo shows one of the first to-scale physical models produced, showing how the built-in furniture would work. -
Panoramic Interests developed this 160-square-foot prototype unit, which they installed in a warehouse in Berkeley. A MIT graduate student lived in the prototype for three weeks and provided feedback that shaped the final design. -
Her requests included a slightly bigger and wider space, to better accommodate visitors; a bigger sink that would fit pots and pans; a larger "adult-size" fridge; and an enclosed bathtub/shower (versus the Euro-style tiled bathroom with open shower the developers installed in the prototype). All these suggestions made it into the final design. -
In the end, the developers decided to build on a 3,750-square-foot lot at 38 Harriet Street in San Francisco's SOMA district. The street is narrow and alley-like, so the developers knew they'd need to come up with an innovative design to maximize the use of the lot. -
The site, sandwiched between two buildings in a transitional area within SOMA, has an eclectic mix of old and new buildings—and some fancy new neighbors, including the new Twitter headquarters. Stay tuned next week for a Q&A with the project's developer and builder.
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