MNN - Mother Nature Network

Similar to Robin Falck’s attention-grabbing Finnish micro-cabin, Swedish it-boy architect and designer Jonas Wagell’s Mini House 2.0 sports a petite footprint for a very good reason: at 15 square meters (a little more than 160 square feet), this teensy prefab weekend retreat circumvents Sweden's strict building codes and all the bureaucratic red tape that comes along with them.

 

Wagell’s Mini House concept has been kicking around for a while now. It first appeared back in 2008, not too long after Sweden began to allow 15-square-meters-and-under residences to be constructed sans permit — but has recently been rebooted in collaboration with Swedish summer home specialist Sommarnöjen. Easy to build thanks to its flat-pack construction (once a cement foundation is ready to go, on-site assembly of the prefabricated modules is geared to take just two days) and geared for both summer and winter living, Mini House's interiors are on the potentially claustrophobia-inducing side. However, the design also offers ample outdoor living space with a 15-square-meter terrace — or “outdoor living room” — that’s accessible via large sliding glass doors and comes complete with shade-providing pergola. So there’s that.

Plus, the basic Mini House unit can be fully customized — and potentially up-sized — with a range of add-ons including a kitchen and bath module, a heater kit with chimney, a storage module, and a 12v solar kit. Wagell tells Gizmag that delivery of the homes will begin early next year in Scandinavia and elsewhere in Europe after a “good routine” is established.

 

More specifics — and photos — over at the Mini House homepage.