When Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque pioneered cubism a century ago, it’s unlikely they thought they may have been inspiring architects as well as artists. Truth be told, they probably haven’t. But the stark simplicity of cubism does have a lot in common with The Cube Project.
The brainchild of Dr Mike Page, from the University of Hertfordshire’s School of Psychology, the aim of the project is to "to build a compact home, no bigger than 3x3x3 metres [10x10x10 feet] on the inside, in
which one person could live a comfortable, modern existence with a
minimum impact on the environment."
And by the looks of things, that has been achieved. The two-storey house he’s built has a bedroom, lounge, full-size shower, and kitchen, and 6’7" of headspace throughout – so it’s definitely livable. When you consider that the average family of five in Bangladesh is
living in an abode of roughly 250 square feet in size (if they’re lucky),
this place is positively roomy.
And apart from the minimal amount of materials used in building it, it’s also carbon neutral over the course of a year, and has a composting toilet, with a reed-bed and soak-away incorporated into the overall design – so it most certainly doesn’t represent a huge detriment to the planet.
It also has a tres cool ‘space-saving staircase’ (check out the photo).
But the big question is, how on earth is this a Psychology project? Think about it. Even considering living in a place like this is going to require a considerable change in behavior from most of us. The point being, of course, that if we aren’t willing to change our behavior considerably, circumstances will probably change them for us.
It’s worth a thought.
Here is Dr Page, showcasing his Cube:
