- Helsinki-based design firm Casagrande Laboratory has created a super-skinny home that costs $40,000.
- The architects hope to build the homes, called Tikkus, on former parking spaces.
- The home are part of a larger trend of cities adding more space for pedestrians and housing rather than cars.
As more people move to cities, the housing supply in many urban places is shrinking. In recent years, urban centers like Manhattan, Austin, and Nashville have begun to run out of room to build more housing — let alone affordable housing — to keep up with demand.
A Helsinki-based design firm called Casagrande Laboratory believes one solution is transforming parking spaces into land for housing.
The company has designed a super-skinny home that measures 8 feet by 16 feet — roughly the footprint of a parking spot, which the architects consider a natural place for the home.
Called the Tikku, the home features three stories: an office, a bedroom, and a greenhouse on top. Solar panels power the house, which is made of cross-laminated timber — a type of strong engineered wood that's five times lighter than concrete.
Each story is a separate module, and construction involves stacking the modules on top of each other (a process similar to assembling Legos). This video shows the process.
The Tikku can be customized for different needs or include more stories. The firm debuted a prototype at Helsinki Design Week in Amsterdam in September.
In the future, Casagrande Laboratory would like to build Tikkus on actual parking spots if cities will allow it, Principal Marco Casagrandetold Fast Company. Since Helsinki Design Week, the architects have already received several orders for the homes, which cost $40,000 for three stories.
As more people move from personal cars to rideshare services like Uber and Lyft, some urban planners have speculated that the number of parking spaces in cities will decline. Building homes in their place may be a smart idea.
Check out a timelapse of Tikku's construction below:
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