A microapartment, also known as a microflat, is a one-room, self-contained living space, usually purpose built, designed to accommodate a sitting space, sleeping space, bathroom and kitchenette with a size of 4-10 square metres (43-107 square feet, 1.2-3 tsubo). In some cases, residents may also have access to a communal kitchen, communal bathroom/shower, patio and roof garden.
Characteristics
The microapartments are often designed for futons, or with pull-down beds, folding desks and tables, and extra-small or hidden appliances. Gary Chang, an architect in Hong Kong, has designed a large 344-square-foot (32-square-metre) microapartment with sliding walls attached to tracks on the ceiling. By moving the walls around, and using built-in folding furniture and worktops, he can convert the space into 24 different rooms, including a kitchen, library, laundry room, dining room, bar and video-game room.
Microapartments are essentially modern versions of the British bedsit, and are becoming popular in urban centres in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and North America, maximizing profits for developers and landlords and providing relatively low-priced accommodation. In Rome, where the average price of property in 2010 was $7,800 per square metre (10.7 square feet), microapartments as small as 4 square metres (45 square feet) have been advertised.
In Hong Kong, developers are embracing the micro-living trend, renting microapartments at sky-high prices. The Wall Street Journal compares the 180-square-feet flat in High Place, Sai Ying Pun to the size of a U.S. parking spot (160 square feet) in a video, highlighting the soaring property prices in Hong Kong (one of the apartments in High Place was sold for more than US$500,000 in June 2015).
There has been a backlash in some cities against the increasing number of these developments. In Seattle, residents have complained that high-density microhousing changes the character of neighbourhoods, suddenly increasing demand for parking spaces and other amenities.
In January 2013, New York City got its first microapartment building, with 55 units that are as small as 250 square feet (23 m2) and ceilings from nine to ten feet (2.7 to 3.0 m).
Boston's first microapartment building opened in August 2016, at 1047 Commonwealth Avenue in Packard's Corner. As the largest microapartment building in the United States, the building is currently being leased by Boston University to house 341 students during the renovation of another university residence. The building contains 180 units that each contain a bathroom with stand-up shower; a kitchen with all stainless-steel appliances that include an oven, a microwave, a dishwasher, and a refrigerator. Each unit also includes a stand up washer-dryer unit. Other amenities include an optional parking garage and indoor bike room in the basement, currently unused retail space, a lounge space, a rooftop penthouse, a deck overlooking the Allston neighbors, and an entertainment room that will be converted to a fitness center at the end of the University's tenure at the property, which is anticipated to be in 2018.