SMALL HOUSES MOVEMENT: INNOVATION OR A NECESSITY?

SMALL HOUSES MOVEMENT:
INNOVATION OR A NECESSITY?
Ballobh Kritayanavaj
87
Housing size should
be decided by each
family. It should depend
on a family’s income,
purchasing capability,
family size, life style,
needs and tastes.
Land and construction
costs as well as legal
tenure and regulations
should also be
considered.
In Thailand, houses
under 500 sq ft (46 sqm)
are considered small
houses. Small houses
are space and energy
efficient, low-cost and
low-maintenance,
and environmentally
and ecologically
friendly.
However, the current global
economic crisis which many
people blamed on the bursting of
the US housing bubble has forced
many people to reconsider
whether a “big house” or “monster
homes” are a necessary dream
aspiration for everyone.
One of the most interest movements in the past decade has
been the “Small Houses Movement” initially advocated by Sarah
Susanka in her book “The Not
So Big House” that was first
published in 1997. Since its initial
publication, the book is into its 10th
printing.
Susanka said that the showy,
supersized homes prevalent in
America are places that make
people worry. “Sometimes we
only find house keepers in that
kind of house,” she said.
At the same she said that small
houses are really for living. With
the sub-prime crisis forcing almost
three million US families to lose
their “often showy gigantic homes”
the small house movement and
its many innovations may indeed
been a plausible answer for housing in the US and globally.
çIDEALé DREAM HOMES
Many people dream of having a
huge “monster home” that they
believe will confirm their status in
the community. Some wealthy
people believe that huge houses,
palaces or castles signify success,
wealth, power, honor and a great
quality of life while small houses
portray someone that is poor and
unsuccessful.
In reality however, the determination of what types of houses are
big or small varies from country to
country. Building styles and sizes
can vary from city to city and
country to country. Sometimes
price and not size is a factor that
determines “big or small”.
Other factors that may determine
how land and houses are valued
include the supply of land,
construction costs and types of
land tenure.
GH BANK HOUSING JOURNAL
Most people dream of owning a
big house because they believe
“bigger is better”.
JAPAN, EUROPE AND USA
In some developed regions such
as Europe and Japan, houses are
generally smaller because of land
limitations, high construction costs
and shrinking family sizes.
GH BANK HOUSING JOURNAL
88
However, houses in the USA have
been growing immensely since
World War II. The National Association of Home Builder statistics
shown that median-sized singlefamily home in 1978 was 1,780
sq ft (165 sqm). In 2005 median
house size expanded to 2,235
sq ft (207 sqm) and expanded
again in 2007 to 2,479 sq ft ( 230
sqm).
After the current crisis however,
the median size of US homes has
decreased to 2,114 sq ft (196 sqm)
in 2008.
STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES
Although many people receive a
tremendous amount of psychic
income from owning a “monster
home”, they are usually very expensive to maintain and upkeep.
In some countries’ “monster
homes” are required to pay large
property taxes that are determined
by assessed land and house
values. “Monster homes” also
consume large amounts of energy
and resources.
At the same time as the “small
house movement” shows, small
houses today do not mean bad
quality design and construction. In
fact, small houses may be the type
of housing that is most suitable for
lower and middle income people.
They may also be appropriate
housing for certain types of high
income people.
Well designed small homes
can provide high-quality living
for any low or high income family.
People must acquire a new
mindset that big homes are not
necessary and simple, sufficient
homes can deliver the same
amount of comfort and happiness.
These so-called well-designed
micro-houses, mini-houses, tinyhomes, micro-compact houses
or house in a suitcase are economical to build, low maintenance
and save taxes and energy costs.
THAILAND-SMALL HOUSE
CONSIDERATIONS
Housing size should be decided
by each family. It should depend
on a family’s income, purchasing
capability, family size, life style,
needs and tastes. Land and construction costs as well as legal
tenure and regulations should also
be considered.
In Thailand, houses under 500
sq ft (46 sqm) are considered small
houses. Small houses are space
and energy efficient, low-cost and
low-maintenance, and environmentally and ecologically friendly.
The Thai government should
consider implementing policy
measures to encourage the construction of small houses as part
of HM the King’s Sufficiency
Economy initiatives.
It should also support initiatives
to research innovative small
house design and construction
that will result in smaller but
better and smarter homes.
SMALL HOUSES ARE
REALLY FOR LIVING
Gregory Paul Johnson
The small house movement has
inspired many of its members to
create innovative, well-designed
and fully-functional homes that
are gradually influencing how
many families are deciding to live.
In 2003, technology consultant
Gregory Paul Johnson who lives
in Iowa City, USA established the
Small House Society. He built
himself a 140 sq ft house that was
equipped with wheels.
Johnson said that his house is
great for a single person or a
couple. “I have all the things I need
and have no idea what to do with
a bigger house,” he said.
Brad Kittel
In 2006, Brad Kittel built
“Tiny Texas Houses”. Later he
developed 350 sq ft Victorianstyle farmhouses for sale, using
low-priced kitchen, toilet and
bed-room materials.
“During economic slowdowns,
people are interested in lowpriced housing,” he said.
Takaharu Tezuka
In 2008, Takaharu Tezuka
designed and constructed
“Houses to Catch the Sky in Tokyo
with two floors, 458 sq ft for four
people. The house has two
bedrooms, kitchen, toilet, dinner
area, living area and store room.