Designers Mateusz Mastalski and Ole Robin Storjohann from Denmark have come up with an innovative way to produce affordable housing for people living in cities. Rents in most major cities have gone through the roof in recent years, and more and more often the solution is micro housing, as well as more lenient zoning laws. But in their micro-apartment plans, the two Danish designers have gone a step further and eliminated the need for even needing vacant land for the new houses to be built on. Their innovative infill concepts are designed so that the micro-houses they propose can fit in the residual spaces between existing buildings, while still letting in plenty of natural light and being quite spacious.

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Sustainable living is something that more and more people are becoming interested in, but unfortunately the costs of downsizing to a tiny home are still prohibitive to many. When Mariah Pastell, an eco-designer from Worcester, Massachusetts wanted to downsize to a tiny home, she decided to transform a vintage camper trailer, rather than build a traditional tiny home from scratch.
She transformed a 1960′s Avalon trailer into what she calls the COMET, which stands for Cost-effective, Off-grid Mobile Eco Trailer. She lives in this tiny home all year, transporting it to warmer climates during the winter months.

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Altius RSA (Rapid Systems Architecture), the makers of MiniHomes recently unveiled their newest prefab housing model, the Solo 40. The company has been designing and manufacturing eco-friendly and sustainable prefab homes since 2002, and their latest model offers a great balance between wide market appeal and price. The Solo 40 is longer, wider, more spacious, and resembles conventional homes in its layout. It measures 480 square feet and the fully equipped model costs only $195 per square foot. The units can be shipped from the company’s facilities in Ontario or California.

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Danish architecture student Konrad Wójcik has come up with a very modern and unique way for people to live in the suburbs of large cities, with minimal impact on the natural habitat. At the heart of his so-called “Primeval Symbiosis” plan are tree shaped houses that have a tiny footprint and very little environmental impact on the forests where they could be built. In his design, he drew inspiration from trees and the way animals use them as shelters. His tree houses are powered by renewable energy, while they also fertilize soil, clean the air, provide shade, and have natural ventilation.

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The city of Johannesburg, South Africa, recently got an innovative student housing structure made of recycled shipping containers and disused grain silos. Mill Junction student accommodation, as the complex is called was designed and built by the South African property developer Citiq. All told, the building process took a year to complete.

The complex is located in a prime location of the city, and is comprised of 11 stories, which contain 375 affordable student apartments. First, windows were cut into the sides of the silos, the inside of which was converted into student apartments. To create additional living space, recycled shipping containers were then attached to the sides of the grain silos and stacked four floors up atop them. Apart from the private units, the complex also contains several common areas, such as study rooms, a library, communal kitchens, and a gym. The builders also placed astro turf on the roof and covered it to create an outdoor common area with amazing views of the city, since the entire structure is roughly 40 meters high.

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