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Living in New York City isn’t all adventure and dynamism. Unless you are wealthy the way no real person is, you probably have to settle for a living space that is cramped and cluttered. It is the project of Graham Hill, entrepreneur and treehugger.com founder, to come up with an ideal New York apartment — one with a small footprint, both physically and environmentally, and one that offers just as much beauty and functionality as a pad multiple times its size.
Hill’s Life Edited apartment is a constantly evolving space. He is always tinkering and researching, looking to streamline the already spare cube in NY’s SoHo to its bare necessities. Still, what exists now seems completely livable with very few compromises. Even for a pack-rat like myself, there is an allure to its simplicity.
When you walk in, you encounter what is, at first glance, a small studio apartment. Within that cube are actually 8 functional spaces. The living room and office become the bedroom with a tug of a bookshelf. Open one of the closets and you’ll find 10 stackable chairs that go around a telescopic dining table for large dinner parties. An entire guest room with bunk-beds and a closet is revealed behind a wall that slides out on tracks. And of course, a well-equipped kitchen and bathroom await.
The space doesn’t only rely on proprietary architectural designs. It’s also an amalgamation of furniture and wares from dozens of companies. From the kitchen tongs to the shower-head, every object has been chosen for its economy of space, design, and sustainability.
Video by Michael Hession
Music by Upright TRex
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totally amazing
Love this. I really like the idea of the simplicity and cosiness of living in a small space like that.
I can see this sort of apartment becoming a mainstay in the future. With the population rising ever more exponentially, and with the population living in cities rising much faster than the population in rural areas, being able to fit one hundred of these rather than twenty-five traditional apartments into a block will be a massive benefit. Kudos to these guys.
“Unless you are wealthy the way no real person is, you probably have to settle for a living space that is cramped and cluttered.”
And unless you’re similarly that wealthy, there’s basically no chance of affording something like this either. It’d be cheaper to just get a normal house/flat.
Plus that looks shockingly annoying to live with. The thought of having to do all that every day is exhausting enough to make me want to stay at work.
Indeed. This kind of thing is popular because it looks flash, it’s novel, and seems efficient. But try living there for a year. You’ll be so sick of moving stuff around you’ll have taken to using as few of the things in your house as possible, so you might as well not have bothered in the first place.
How much would this cost?
Ok, apart for it turning very hipster douche (yea ok he is founder of treehugger but comparing dishwasher gallon use age etc.) I absolutely love it for the design. I couldn’t live there,but this reminds me of my grandads camper. He was an engineer and every panel would covert the space into something new, the cupboard doors folded to make a bathroom. Well done to those student designers, very cool.
It’s a great piece of design and all, but it just seems like far too much hassle for me. Also, the kitchen is far to basic for my liking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg9qnWg9kak