The flexible micro-apartment ‘Slim Fit’

In conversation with Dutch architect Ana Rocha

With her ‘Slim Fit’ project, Dutch architect Ana Rocha has created a three-storey tiny house with a living space of 50 square metres. After many years of working for the internationally renowned Mecanoo firm, the designer has been running her own office in The Hague since 2013. We asked her three questions for Müller Small Living. 

What vision do you associate with the topic of small living?

Ana Rocha: Small living offers completely new possibilities for creating living space. Instead of constantly developing new areas on the outskirts of cities as building land, thereby further urbanising our landscape and creating more commuter traffic, we should first make use of the existing niches in our cities. The advantage of such densification would also be that we could make use of the existing infrastructure. Unfortunately, the problem is that large flats are significantly more profitable. For normal investors, small living is therefore not usually an option. In this respect, a lot still needs to change! 

What other advantages does small living offer?

Ana Rocha: Small living is not only significantly more ecological, it also offers new perspectives from a social point of view. When you only have a small amount of space available, community becomes much more important and you automatically share much more; for example, there is a large communal kitchen where you can cook together. Life would also tend to take place outside rather than inside. I think that would be great! Seen in this light, small living does not necessarily mean sacrifice, but rather opens up a whole new range of possibilities! 

What do you do in your private life to live as resource-efficiently as possible? 

Ana Rocha: It was very important to us that we didn't want to seal off any new areas with our flat. That's why we now live in an old flat in a converted office building, which I renovated myself. And because it's right next to the station, I now travel by train even more often. In the city itself, I mostly get around by bicycle anyway, and I only use our car when there is no other option. It's also very important to me to use as little light as possible and to heat sparingly. Instead, I prefer to wear a thick jumper. And in the office, we've got into the habit of printing as little as possible. And when I do print, I usually reuse the paper several times, for example for sketches or as scrap paper.

Living in a confined space – the flexible ‘Slim Fit’ micro apartment

Living space has become increasingly scarce and expensive in recent years. To continue to afford life in the city, tiny houses or micro-apartments are therefore becoming more and more popular. An exciting example of this is the flexible micro-apartment ‘Slim Fit’ by Dutch architect Ana Rocha. The house has a floor area of 16 square metres and offers a total living space of 50 square metres on three levels. 

The micro-apartment was first presented at the ‘BuildingExpo Tiny Housing’ trade fair, which took place in Almere, the Netherlands, in 2016. After the trade fair, the house was purchased by a local design agency, which had it converted into temporary accommodation for new employees. The floor plan structure almost took care of itself: the ground floor serves as a cooking and dining area and also incorporates a toilet. The first floor functions as a living room, while the second floor has been furnished as a bedroom.

The three levels of the house are connected by a narrow staircase, which also incorporates an open shelf. The interplay of these elements has created a surprisingly airy ambience that offers its users maximum space, comfort, views and daylight. And best of all, the house was completed in just two months!