Narrow Houses by Avi Friedman

By Preston on Jan. 31, 2011 | Topics: book, Giveaways | 65 Comments

Leave a comment below through the end of Wednesday, February 2, 2011, to be considered for this random book giveaway.*

Princeton Architectural Press was nice enough to send us a copy of a newly published book on skinny houses called Narrow Houses: New Directions in Efficient Design. Authored by Avi Friedman, Narrow Houses includes 28 case studies — all measuring less than 25 feet in width — with site plans, floor plans, and tons of photos.

Projects featured in this book vary with a healthy dose of detached, semi-detached, and attached examples. If you have a thin site, perhaps a copy would provide value in the form of getting ideas to maximize your lot.

Also, when building green, it is commonly agreed that location is just as important as construction. So if you’ve thought about acquiring a tiny urban infill lot in the city to drive less and use more mass transportation, Narrow Houses will also give you ideas for creating the perfect skinny home.

Shown on the cover is a 960-square foot project in Nova Scotia, Canada — the Sliding House. The interior is lined with a clean-looking, bleached, clear poplar and the home is about 15 feet wide.

Narrow Houses can be read in a couple hours, but the photos and floor plans may take a lot more time to digest and consider. At the end of the book, Friedman includes four essays on narrow-house design, footprints and volumes, interiors, and historical chronology, in this order.

[+] Buy a copy of Narrow Houses on Amazon.

About Preston: Founder/Chief Editor of Jetson Green. Preston is an entrepreneur, innovator, and LEED AP living near the mountains of Salt Lake City, Utah. You can follow him on Twitter at @JetsonGreen or connect on Facebook at JetsonGreen.

Vpezel

We have been looking for a city lot for a long time and building a narrow house would be a must for such a land configuration. have already considered a number of designs but seeing more of them would be even greater.
mjbensey

I once owned a house that was roughly 25′ X 25′. It was more than enough space for a family of four.
sonya

Awesome! Bring this to the mass, so they can start realising they dont need to live in huge mension! Love it and pick me!!
nader

Great inspiration for those looking to build with ISBUs!
Wascher

Interesting, though I’ll opt for something with no stairs!
Marie

This looks really interesting!
Sabina Edwards

damn I would love to win a book like this (to give me ideas for our small house)but I live in Canada
I hope to find this book online and will have to wishlist it on amazon!! GOOD LUCK everyone
Michael Lucas

We are making similar now will buy if you dont give!!
http://twitter.com/mark_melb Mark Kozakiewicz

could create some very efficient plans………..
eli

We really need better ideas for small infill lot housing that can be more appealing to the neighboring houses and the neighborhood associations that have not been happy with the early efforts to stuff bulky, awkward houses onto skinny lots. Many people support the idea of infill, but hate the impacts many of these houses have had on massing and neighborhood character. We need more examples of how to do this well!
kb

This could be helpful in my search for a good passive solar design, though I like to think of them as wide houses with a shallow footprint.
Jamin

Gimme! Gimme! Narrow houses reminds me of Amsterdam, where historically homes were taxed on their width, which led to some narrow but magnificent structures.
Nashtin

Just stumbled upon this site. We lost our home 2 weeks ago to a house fire and lost everything. We had no insurance and my boyfriend was burned while trying to save the house and our cat. We are thinking about container homes for our rebuild and are trying to visualize how to utilize the small space more efficiently. This book looks like it may help.
http://twitter.com/seeinggreen seeinggreen

Yes to more narrow, small and infill houses!
http://www.jetsongreen.com Preston

Glenn, congrats! You’re the winner of this giveaway … I’ll email you separately to get your contact information to send the book your direction.

Narrow Houses by Avi Friedman

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