Stella van Beers converts grain silo into micro home

Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Stella van Beers has created a watchtower-style house inside a grain silo.

In a project called Silo Living, Van Beers transformed the disused agricultural structure into a two-level living space, which she believes could function as a short-term home.

The project converts a seven-metre-high grain silo

While silos are not ideally proportioned for living, they offer some unique benefits. They can often be installed in rural locations without planning permission.

They are also readily available in the Netherlands as a country-wide reduction in livestock has resulted in lower demand for grain, leaving many of these structures redundant.

The designer had to add doors, windows and floors

Van Beers hopes to inspire new uses for these disused silos, which are otherwise costly to dispose of and impossible to recycle.

"You always see them in rural areas," she told Dezeen. "I always really wanted to go inside one, so thought it could be a nice place for a temporary stay."

Van Beers created two storeys inside the silo

To test her concept, the designer found a seven-metre-high silo for sale online. "I thought, if I want to do something with a silo then I have to just buy one and see what's possible," she said.

After explaining her plans to the owner, he let her take it away for free.

A spiral staircase and deck provides access

Originally there was no way for a person to enter the silo, so Van Beers started by changing that.

She installed a set of double doors, then added a spiral staircase and access deck.

[

Read:

Micro homes inside water pipes could take advantage of unused urban space

](https://www.dezeen.com/2018/03/16/movie-james-law-cybertecture-opod-tube-housing-micro-homes-water-pipes-video/)

To make the most of the space inside, she installed two floors, connected by a mini staircase and ladder.

The lower level is a living space, with a ledge that functions as a space to eat or work.

A mini staircase and ladder connects the levels inside

The mezzanine above is a sleep space, so is entirely taken up by a mattress.

Both storeys now have projecting windows and there's also a skylight that functions as a lookout point.

Windows were added to both floors

"A cylindrical house is not something you see very often, so it was a bit of a challenge," said Van Beers.

Most of the adaptations use standard components, so could be easily replicated on a variety of silos. The designer hopes to inspire silo owners to get creative.

The windows project out, creating some additional space

"There are a lot of things I would change if I made another," she said, "but I'm really happy with this as a first prototype. A few people have slept in it already."

"If you have a bigger silo, you could use it as a living space for a longe amount of time," she suggested.

A porthole in the top creates a lookout point.

Van Beers created the project for her bachelors degree at Design Academy Eindhoven. She presented it at the graduation show, which took place during Dutch Design Week in October.

Other projects on show included glass blown inside bread and "trauma-healing" garments.

The post Stella van Beers converts grain silo into micro home appeared first on Dezeen.

#residential #all #architecture #videos #netherlands #designacademyeindhoven #studentprojects #architecturevideos #microhomes #residentialconversions #graduates

Tiny home village by Lehrer Architects provides temporary shelter for LA's homeless

Local studio Lehrer Architects has built a community of brightly coloured tiny houses on a narrow strip in Los Angeles for the city's homeless residents.

The Whitsett West Tiny Home Village occupies an oddly shaped stretch of land in North Hollywood, measuring a quarter of a mile long and only 20 feet (six metres) wide in places.

The Whitsett West Tiny Home Village occupies an oddly shaped site beside LA's 170 freeway

The community includes 150 beds in 77 units, as well as hygiene trailers, storage, offices and communal spaces.

Necessary infrastructure like electricity, storm drains, sewers, water, ADA accessibility and drainage are also integrated.

The village has 77 units that can house up to 150 residents

This is the fourth collaboration of this nature in seven months between Lehrer Architects and the City of Los Angeles, resulting in the creation of transitional housing on disused urban lots, including the Alexandra Park village.

"After completing three successful Tiny Home Villages, each in a very different urban setting, working on this site felt particularly satisfying," said Lehrer Architects partner Nerin Kadribegovic.

"The oddity of its shape, and location forced us to use every tool in our design palette to make this forgotten piece of land bring dignity and joy to its future residents."

The site has communal areas for eating and socialising

The lockable micro homes, which sleep one or two people, are manufactured by Pallet Shelter and delivered to the site flat and unassembled.

The eight-by-eight-foot (2.4-by-2.4-metre) structures come in white, but have been decorated by Lehrer Architects in bright hues to create a more desirable place to live.

They are arranged in rows facing communal outdoor spaces that are also colourfully patterned in blue, green and yellow.

"A profound joy of these projects is the necessity for – and intensity of – their visual presence," said Lehrer Architects founder Michael B Lehrer. "Every tool in our visual palette was employed starting with perspective, procession, and colour."

Bright colours were chosen to create a more desirable place to live

An eight-foot sound barrier blocks noise from the adjacent freeway and offers residents privacy.

Like the studio's previous tiny home villages, Whitsett West is intended as temporary accommodation for LA's unhoused population, which is estimated to number over 40,000 people.

The village also incorporates hygiene trailers, storage, offices and other necessary infrastructure

The city has built eight of these villages so far over the past year, and currently has plans to construct eight more on dilapidated or leftover pieces of land.

Other projects created to rehouse those experiencing homelessness in LA include an apartment complex built from shipping containers and a bright white housing development.

The post Tiny home village by Lehrer Architects provides temporary shelter for LA's homeless appeared first on Dezeen.

#residential #all #architecture #usa #losangeles #california #housing #microhomes #homelesshousing #homelessness #lehrerarchitects

Plywood furniture turns 1990s van into mobile home for Ecuadorian couple

Architects Juan Alberto Andrade and María José Váscones have transformed a Chevy van into a house-on-wheels for a young couple that includes a kitchenette, a fold-up dining table and a full-sized mattress.

The project, Dodo Van, involved the conversion of a 1993 van made by the American car company Chevrolet. The couple – a lawyer and an environmental engineer – purchased the vehicle for their travels and their work with local communities.

Architects Juan Alberto Andrade and María José Váscones have converted a van into a mini home

To oversee the conversion of the van, they turned to architects Juan Alberto Andrade and María José Váscones, who are based in Guayaquil and have also completed an office in the city.

The brief for the van called for creating a simple living environment within its five square metres of space, and under its 1.86-metre ceiling.

"The area conditions the space – developing a project that is flexible enough to adapt to different everyday situations and solving the basic needs of living," the designers said.

The home includes a kitchenette, fold-up dining table and a place to sleep

The exterior was left mainly untouched. Within the van, the designers created a pared-down living environment that includes a kitchenette, a lounge space, a portable table for eating and working, and a sleeping platform for two people.

The van's seating can accommodate the transportation of six passengers.

The architects had to create something that was able to adapt to everyday situations within the limited space

Service functions were incorporated into the long sides of the vehicle, behind the front seats.

"Design strategies were developed that allowed the space to be transformed into various configurations according to its needs, based on the decision to liberate longitudinal circulation and maintain the interior morphology of the vehicle," the designers said.

Cabinets open out and can be used to store kitchen utensils or act as countertops

Occupying the front portion is the compact kitchen, which features several cabinets and a sink. Small, triangular cuts in the cabinet doors enable them to be opened without the use of handles. One of the doors folds down and becomes a table or countertop.

Next to the kitchen is the living space, where the team placed a bench containing storage space. In front of this area is a large trunk that hides the van's portable table, which has legs that can be easily taken on and off.

The rear furniture can be converted into a platform for a full-sized mattress.

"The mattress is custom made," the designers said. "It involves three pieces that fold, making them easier to store."

The mattress can be folded into three when not in use

Interior walls are clad in six-millimetre-thick plywood, while 12- and 15-millimetre boards were used for the flooring and furniture.

A natural matte finish is meant to make the van feel more spacious. Mineral wool was used to provide thermal and acoustical insulation on the floor, walls and ceiling.

While the interior is lined with plywood, the exterior has been left largely untouched

The interior is powered by an independent battery linked to the van's alternator and a 110-volt transformer. The van has tanks for storing both clean and used water.

Other mobile dwellings include a 1960s travel trailer that Edmonds + Lee Architects converted into an office and crash pad for a tech entrepreneur, and a canvas caravan by Belgian designer Axel Enthoven that is shaped like the Sydney Opera House.

The photography is byJAG Studio.

---

Project credits:

Architects in charge: Juan Alberto Andrade, María José Váscones

Collaborators: Cuqui Rodriguez

Providers: Masisa El Fortín, Mega Metales, Mega Kywi, Acimco

Local hand work: Eusebio Tomalá

The post Plywood furniture turns 1990s van into mobile home for Ecuadorian couple appeared first on Dezeen.

#transport #all #design #plywood #vehicles #caravans #microhomes #ecuador