Small Living Space in Manhattan

I started this project because I wanted to create something for the Make It Small challenge. I was inspired by Keret House in Warsaw, Poland, a tiny living space placed directly between two buildings, and I wanted to create something similar but based in NYC, an extremely populated city currently going through a housing crisis. I wanted to make my space livable, comfortable and realistic, so I based the measurements for my project off of an actual area I found on the East Side of Manhattan.

I used the Autodesk Revit application for the project as well as BIM object for some of the interior items of the space. I also used a digital drawing app to sketch out my layout ideas but doing that on paper would work just as well.

Once I discovered Keret House and did more research on it, I knew that I was going to use that as my biggest inspiration. Keret House is stuffed between two pre-existing buildings, and I wanted to do the same thing with my structure. I found a space in Manhattan on 2nd Avenue and 12th Street that I thought could be a good model for my project. I found estimated measurements for the space using Google Earth. While these measurements were likely not accurate, they still helped give me a general idea of how much space I would be allowed.

After I knew what my dimensions were going to be I started working on a layout. I put the dimensions into Revit and then made a sketch of the building on my iPad so I could come up with an orientation for everything. Once I found that orientation, I started to put it into Revit.

The layout that I decided on includes a loft big enough for a full-sized mattress, underneath the loft to the left is a kitchen and on the right is a bathroom. In order to reach the loft, I added bars onto the wall that would act as a ladder. Adding an actual ladder would take up too much of the limited space, so this worked a lot better. I did not include where I would place windows in the original sketch, as I wanted to see how everything would actually look when put into Revit. I also made sure in my original sketch, that there would be room to move around and that the space would be open so if someone were to live here they would be comfortable.

After I had the front door, walls and loft floor down, I started to work on the inside of the building. Make sure to adjust the size of everything in your design to your liking! I had to do this a lot throughout my entire project.

I first worked on the kitchen space. In my original sketch, I had an idea of how I wanted the kitchen to be organized. However, when I put it into Revit I had to change my design a little, something that is completely fine. I chose to have a sink with a cabinet underneath that has just enough room for a mini fridge. Next to the cabinet are shelves that can be used for storage, and the shelves are covered with open counter space. Above the sink and counter, is a small cabinet with a sliding door for additional storage. I opted for sliding as opposed to one that swings in order for the space to be more open.

I then moved over to the small bathroom area. Although I could not find the right assets to execute this, the door that I added leading into the bathroom should be sliding to maximize space. Inside the bathroom is a shower and a toilet separated by a partition. I made sure that there is enough space in the small bathroom for it to not feel completely cramped.

Once I had the most important parts of the design down, I decided to add some extra details. I added the ladder to get up to the loft in this part, I chose to attach multiple grab bars to the wall instead of a real ladder in order to maximize space. Since the space is small, light is really important to make it seem more open. I added windows at the top of the walls to let any natural light in. I also added lights attached to the wall above the loft as well as a light attached to the ceiling underneath the loft in the kitchen area. This is optional, but I attached a hook underneath the cabinet in the kitchen for added storage space. Another optional thing I did was adding a painting to the wall, mostly for decoration but also just to show what you can do with the space.

As I was putting things into Revit, I was not really paying attention to the material or color of anything. However, color/material is extremely important in small spaces because it can either make a space seem big or small. I chose to use almost all white for the interior to let more light in and make the space feel a lot bigger. I chose a lighter wood color as the floor for the same reason. In this step, I also added two rugs, a big one in the loft and a small one in the kitchen. The one in the kitchen was for decoration, but the one in the loft was to map out where a mattress could be placed.

After I did the interior, I worked on the exterior. This is the part where I added the roof (a flat roof) and I chose to match the outside material of my building to the buildings around it, so I made the walls brick. I also added a locked cabinet by the front door for additional storage, but again that is an optional step.

After recoloring my design, my project was complete! Overall, I felt that this was a pretty simple and manageable project. I think that my design was able to accomplish my goals: comfortable, livable, and realistic, while still fitting into a small space.

Feel free to add any extra details you want to, after I had finished everything I added a welcome mat for outside the front door!