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Tiny House von oben

Small-Scale Housing Living spaces with potential? 

Between climate change, scarce building land and rising rental prices, the real estate sector is facing a host of challenges today. A new interdisciplinary research project explores the potential of small-scale housing including tiny houses, micro apartments and mobile homes. Its focus is on balancing the competing requirements of individualisation and densification in a sustainability context.

What is the potential of small-scale housing between the requirements of individualisation and densification in a sustainability context?
This Innosuisse-funded, interdisciplinary study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) shows that small-scale housing (up to 30 sqm for one person and up to 15 sqm for every additional person) offers a range of opportunities for sustainable development. 

Small-scale housing comes in different shapes: as detached units for one person, pairs or small families, but also in buildings containing multiple housing units. A representative survey conducted across Switzerland in the framework of the study reveals significant market potential: about half of the respondents said they were interested in or had prior experience with small-scale housing. Apartments (multiple units in one building) and stationary houses (units fixed to the ground) are particularly popular. There is less interest in prefab modules (prefabricated and assembled on site), vehicles (self-propelled), trailers (moved by a towing vehicle) and lightweight or textile units (easy to dismantle and move around).

Political measures, building regulations and innovative financing models can help to promote small-scale housing as sustainable and future-proof housing solutions and to strengthen their role between the competing requirements of individualisation and densification. The project team has developed visions for urban and rural spaces with a range of model projects based on the research results. 

Read on for a summary of the project results by thematic area.

Project results

Frau und Hund auf Terasse schauen in den Sonnuntergang

Descriptive overview for Switzerland

To date, there has been no systematic research into the demand for small-scale housing and into the popularity of the different typologies in Switzerland. Thanks to this study, this gap is now closed. (in German)

Familie im Wohnzimmer von oben

Inter- and transdisciplinary results

What is the potential of small-scale housing between the competing requirements of individualisation and densification in the context of sustainability? Using inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, the project team developed a vision and proposed ways of realising small-scale housing based on it. (in German)

Frau am Kochen

Practice examples and typological features

What, exactly, is small-scale housing? This study delivered the data required to formally define this form of housing for the first time. The study also provides an overview of architectural typologies, citing a range of domestic and international practice examples. (in German)

Zwei Frauen arbeiten am Modell

Legal framework and process

The study explores the relevant regulatory and urban planning framework to build knowledge around the legal requirements, obstacles and risks associated with planning and realising small-scale housing projects. (in German)

Waage mit Tiny House und Münzen

Financing models

What are the risks and opportunities associated with financing small-scale housing projects? The study shares the perspectives of a bank and various experts in the field. (in German)

Kleines Spielhaus auf Baumstrunk

Sustainability and environmental footprint

A case study investigates how environmentally friendly small-scale housing really is. The different types’ environmental footprints are compared to those of standard single-family homes. (in German)

Landschaft im SOnnenuntergang

Socio-demographic profiles by demand segment

Who uses small-scale housing? The collected data shows socio-demographic factors of people in relation to different sites and typologies.

Rendering von einer ländlichen Kleinwohnform

Visions for urban and rural small-scale housing

What might small-scale housing look like in future? Based on the project results, visions were developed for the municipality of Buttisholz (LU) and the urban district of Zurich-Affoltern.

Project funding and support

The project was supported by Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency, the Interdisciplinary Cluster Spatial Development and Social Cohesion as well as several industry partners.

Team

Further authors: Julian Franke, Leonie Frommenwiler, Kathrin Leitner

Media and Events

“Narrow dimensions” in the Wohnrevue

The October issue of Wohnrevue magazine (Vol. 2024) is published under the title “Kompakt” and examines the topic of limited living space on many different levels. In this interview, project manager Selina Lutz talks about the research topic and gives an outlook on the results that will soon be published.

Radio show Rendez-vous

There would certainly be interest in tiny houses if they were a little easier to implement. This is the conclusion of the radio show “Rendez-vous” from September 17, 2024, in which Selina Lutz and other experts show what hurdles exist and how they could be overcome.

The Kleinwohnformen association

The Kleinwohnformen [small-scale housing] association has published the final report of the “Kleinwohnformen: Wohn- und Lebensraum mit Potenzial? Deskriptiver Überblick Schweiz” project. Read their interesting blog post for more information.

New Housing Festival

Messe Karlsruhe will host this year’s edition of NEW HOUSING — one the biggest Tiny House festivals in Europe — from 28 to 30 June 2024. The event will feature exhibitions, workshops and talks. Among the speakers will be Felix Bucher, who is set to present a HSLU study on small-scale housing and discuss whether this form of housing is sustainable.

Lucerne-Seetal Rotary Club

On 23 April 2024, the research team was invited by the Lucerne-Seetal chapter of the Rotary Club to participate in a meeting themed “GREEN” and talk about the project. They presented the background of the project and discussed what constitutes small scale-housing, showcased selected results and projects, and laid out a vision of small scale-housing in a rural context.

Housing for all

The “Wohnen für alle” (“housing for all”) conference was dedicated to a highly topical issue within urban research: How to achieve “housing for all” between the poles of the housing shortage and the goals of socially sustainable urban and housing development. Learn more about the conference and the workshop here.

“I’d rather have more light than big rooms”

In her 27 January 2024 interview with the Luzerner Zeitung newspaper, Selina Lutz explains what matters to people living in tiny houses and which strategies to employ to fight the housing shortage.

Living in a tiny house: “You can’t be fussy”

On 14 October 2023, the NZZ ran an article about a married couple who couldn’t be happier to have swapped their three-bedroom flat for a tiny house. The article also features Selina Lutz, who talks about Switzerland’s growing interest in this form of housing and about the related challenges facing communities and banks.

Rebuild Ukraine

Alongside other Swiss university-level institutions, the HSLU’s Competence Centre for Typology and Planning in Architecture (CCTP) is part of the “Rebuild Ukraine” CAS programme. This practical continuing education programme provides training to participants from Ukraine wishing to help rebuild their country. Notably, this includes the reconstruction of building and infrastructure. One day of instruction was dedicated to small-scale housing. Under the slogan “ça suffit” (“that will do”), they developed a vision for small-scale housing typologies. Selina Lutz gave a presentation about the research project on the subject, providing various pieces of reference material.

Sustainable University Day 2023

The goal of the 2023 Sustainable University Day was to strengthen networks dedicated to sustainability among Swiss university-level institutions. Selina Lutz, Stephanie Weiss and Stefan Kunz (HSLU) led the workshop “Housing and sustainability as an inter- and transdisciplinary field of action”, which showed the many and often competing needs around housing and discussed the most pressing challenges. Together, the participants identified possible fields of action in their practice. To facilitate the discussion, the organisers introduced the “vision workshop” method, which is a reliable tool for transdiciplinary collaboration.

Elisabeth does(n't) have a bed

What are the needs of homeless people? How can findings on small-scale housing be made applicable for those affected and for decision-makers in politics and residential construction? On the Day of the Homeless, Selina Lutz and Stephanie Weiss presented compelling results of a survey from the perspective of those affected in Marburg in Germany. More about the study and the panel discussion, which was also attended by the Lord Mayor Thomas Spiess, here.

“It’s not floor space that makes living quality”

Selina Lutz, who is an expert for new forms of housing, investigates ways to make tiny houses, micro apartments and communal housing attractive and useful parts of the housing market. Read about her experiences in the HSLU “News and Stories” blog.

Project Partners

René Hodel