Ten projects deliver compact residential spaces that offer more affordable city living options, foster community, and minimize environmental impacts
Micro-housing can give people an affordable toehold in urban cores by squeezing into tight infill sites and maximizing density. Clever use of space—via built-ins that include Murphy beds that double as storage units while tucked away—and access to generous shared amenities, such as rooftop decks, co-working spaces, and communal dining areas, give residents extra room to breathe.
The following 10 projects include shipping containers repurposed into apartments, tiny homes for at-risk youth, a multifamily residence for artists, modular units designed to give homeless individuals and couples respite and resources to find permanent housing, and a pink-balconied building with views of Cape Town’s Table Mountain.
1. 83 Freight
Nashville, Tennessee
South of Nashville’s downtown, the once-industrial Wedgewood Houston neighborhood is in transition as shops, restaurants, art galleries, and residences spring up, putting pressure on rental prices. 83 Freight provides affordable market-rate options by making use of 173 former shipping containers. Local architecture firm Smith Gee Studio created three buildings by stacking, rotating, and offsetting the structures, which contain 28 320-square-foot (30 sq m) micro-studios, as well as 55 one- and two-bedroom units that range from 640 to 1,280 square feet (60 to 120 sq m).
On their outsides, the containers’ weathered exteriors
reference the neighborhood’s industrial past. Inside, original fluted metal ceilings and marine-grade plywood floors are left exposed. Closed cell insulation and energy-efficient floor-to-ceiling windows keep interior temperatures comfortable. The design team worked with local officials to devise new code-compliant assemblies for these unusual construction materials. Containers were modified, in a factory off site, into habitations, shortening site construction times and minimizing waste. Local developer FMBC Investments completed the project in 2021 for local owner v3 Realty.
2. Abode by Gotham Residences at the Suffolk
New York, New York
One of two mixed-use residential buildings in local developer Gotham Organization’s Broome Street Development, the Suffolk is a 30-story tower with 378 apartments, including three floors of 33 micro-units, dubbed Abode by Gotham. The micro-units range from 315 to 350 square feet (30 to 33 sq m) and save space via a sofa/bookshelf structure that folds down to become a Murphy bed. Residents of these compact apartments have their own dedicated communal lounge, kitchen, and laundry facilities, as well as access to all the building’s amenities, such as co-working spaces, a roof deck, and a fitness studio.
Located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the Suffolk incorporates ground-floor retail spaces, headquarters for the
Chinese-American Planning Council, and a rooftop deck with a pool. Twenty-five percent of the residences are earmarked for households earning 40 to 100 percent of the area median income. The development’s second building, the Norfolk, includes permanently affordable apartments for seniors and a cultural heritage center. Completed in 2023, the Broome Street Development was designed by local firm Dattner Architects.
3. Ezabelle Apartments
San Diego, California
In San Diego’s East Village, a slim plot of land containing an abandoned but historically designated Italianate Victorian house posed a challenge to potential developers. Local firm Nakhshab Development and Design purchased the site in 2017. By collaborating with a local historic preservation group, Nakhshab persuaded city officials to allow the four-bedroom house to be rehabilitated and incorporated into a new 46-unit micro-apartment building that wraps around it.
Nakhshab also obtained a building permit with no on-site parking requirement, the first of its kind in the city, allowing the building’s transformer and other infrastructure to be tucked into the basement to save space. Completed in 2021, the 46 units range in size from 195 to 305 square feet (18 to 28 sq m), with Murphy beds and access to a roof deck. Upper floors have private balconies facing the street. A courtyard opens to the Victorian house, the ground floor of which features small retail kiosks.
4. New Hope Housing Dale Carnegie
Houston, Texas
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey struck Houston’s Sharpstown neighborhood, displacing many residents who lost their homes to flood and wind damage. Three years later, nonprofit organization New Hope Housing of Houston, Texas, opened its Dale Carnegie permanent supportive housing in Sharpstown. Dale Carnegie provided 170 studio apartments for individuals who are transitioning out of homelessness or who earn up to 60 percent of the area median income. Units range from 280 to 360 square feet (26 to 33 sq m). Such shared amenities as a theater, a community kitchen and dining room, a library, a business center, washer/dryer facilities, and a rooftop terrace encourage community engagement.
Local architecture firm GSMA designed the four-story building to wrap around a landscaped triangular courtyard. A green roof tops the two-story community building. Durable and low-maintenance exterior materials such as masonry and fiber cement siding balance upfront costs with affordability. On-site support services for residents include primary and mental health care, legal assistance, life-skills training, and case management.
5. Nightingale Village Skye House
Brunswick, Victoria, Australia
In the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, on a site once occupied by warehouses, a collaboration among local architecture firms created Nightingale Village, with different firms designing different buildings. Skye House, the work of Melbourne-based Breathe, was completed in 2022 and includes a range of one-, two-, and three-bedroom dwellings, as well as seven “teilhauses”—German for “partial houses,” some of which are as small as 258 square feet (24 sq m). These compact units are scattered across the building. Shared spaces include dining rooms, rooftop gardens, laundries, and bathhouses.
Potential buyers had to bid on the units in Skye House; on ballot day, these compact units were the most popular unit type, leading Nightingale Housing to request that architects include teilhauses in subsequent residential buildings added to the site. Energy-saving strategies include a photovoltaic array, hydronic heating, and a heat pump hot water system.
6. Nohona Hale
Honolulu, Hawaii
On a site that once held an asphalt parking lot with a small community garden, Nohona Hale provides much-needed affordable housing in Honolulu’s urban core. Located on a challengingly narrow, trapezoidal, 9,660-square-foot (897 sq m) infill site, the building encompasses 111 285-square-foot (26 sq m) micro-units, each with its own private lanai. Developed by a joint venture of the local office of EAH Housing and Bronx Pro Group of the Bronx, New York, and completed in 2020, Nohona Hale is the first micro-housing project in Hawaii.
Local architecture firm WCIT Architecture designed the building with sustainability and community in mind. The compact units maximize livability by means of sliding doors, built-in storage, and full-size appliances. Shared amenities include a lounge on each floor, a fitness room, an urban farm, and a sundeck. Exposed concrete, perforated metal lanai shade screens, and a vertical array of photovoltaic panels nod to the neighborhood’s industrial past while reducing energy use. Units rent to households earning 30 to 60 percent of area median income. Many of the residents are first-time renters.
7. Pivot Tiny Homes
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
In 2019, Pivot, an Oklahoma City nonprofit organization, completed three tiny homes on its campus to house young people who aged out of foster care or lacked a stable place to live. An additional three tiny homes followed in 2021, and 20 more in 2022. The single-level structures range from 280 to 320 square feet (26 to 30 sq m), and each of them includes a bathroom and kitchen area. A few have separate bedrooms, but most have open floor plan or efficiency-style spaces.
Residents have access to Pivot’s services, which include counseling, as well as training in life skills—cooking, driving, communications skills, and budgeting, among others. To design the buildings, Pivot worked with architecture students from Oklahoma State University, who submitted designs to a committee that chose the most practical, affordable, and creative ones. Local interior designers helped furnish the spaces. Pivot is currently building 15 additional homes to be completed in 2024.
8. The Roost
Seattle, Washington
The Roost offers affordable micro-housing aimed at strengthening the city’s arts community, with 33 live-work units averaging 220 square feet (20 sq m) each. The four-story building’s developers and designers, local firm Neiman Taber Architects, reached out to more than 60 nonprofit arts organizations—as well as galleries—to identify possible tenants. Nine income-restricted units renting at below-market rates help artists afford housing in the pricey neighborhood.
Double-height loft-style units optimize the small footprints, separating sleeping and living/working zones vertically. Interiors incorporate built-in storage, custom cabinets, and artistic finishes such as photograph-printed “forest” flooring. A rooftop solar array heats domestic water. A large common area near the main entry promotes resident interaction, with a shared kitchen, dining table, TV lounge, co-working and meeting spaces, and a laundry room. Small kitchens on the second and third floors provide additional communal areas. An arts nonprofit organization leases the ground-floor gallery and workshop space for its headquarters. Completed in 2018, the Roost puts local artists within walking distance of more than a dozen arts community resources in the neighborhood.
9. San Mateo County Navigation Center
Redwood City, California
Part of San Mateo County’s efforts to effectively end homelessness within its borders, the San Mateo County Navigation Center makes use of modular construction to provide 240 units of interim housing for formerly homeless adults and couples or those at imminent risk of being unsheltered. Except for two structures for gathering and communal dining, all buildings consist of modules fabricated off site, allowing the facility to be constructed for only $200,000 per bed. The 240 units include 168 that are 200 square feet (19 sq m) with a private bathroom, and 72 that are 100 square feet (9 sq m) with access to community bathrooms.
Stays are anticipated to last three to six months. On-site support services help clients find and maintain stable housing. Residents can train for food industry careers at the site’s commercial kitchen. To develop the “Step(1) Housing” modular concept, which can be used to create both interim and permanent multifamily housing, The Office of Charles F. Bloszies FAIA, based in San Francisco, worked closely with contractor XL Construction of Milpitas, California. The facility opened in 2023.
10. Uxolo
Cape Town, South Africa
Uxolo brings affordable city living to Cape Town’s central business district. The eight-story building has 35 compact units that range from 260-square-foot (24 sq m) micro-
studios to 430-square-foot (40 sq m) lofts. Local firm Two Five Five Architects designed the structure for local owner Vredenburg Properties on a tight 2,100-square-foot (195 sq m) infill site. Initially conceptualized for short-term stays, the units were redesigned during COVID-19 for longer-term residents. Two Five Five crafted a large wooden piece incorporating a full kitchen, cupboard, study desk, and storage space, plus a Murphy bed that flips up to reveal a sofa. The building’s flat, tapestry-like facade combines glass blocks and bricks, inspired by traditional African patterns and contemporary textiles. Bright pink balconies add sculptural accents and provide views of Table Mountain. Sustainable strategies such as natural ventilation and daylight reduce energy use.
