MKCA

February 8, 2017

MKCA transforms 225-square-foot West Village pad into a super-multi-functional home

The master of small apartment design in New York is at it again. The architecture firm MKCA managed to transform a 225-square-foot space that connects to an adjoining five-foot-tall storage attic into a highly functional apartment. MKCA has made a name for itself by designing claustrophobically tiny spaces into enviable apartments through creative and space-saving techniques. (Read more about the firm's design style in this 6sqft interview with MKCA's founder, Michael Chen.) This apartment, located in the West Village, is no different--a customized wall of storage created space for a bed, table, hangers and shelving that can be taken out and tucked away as the owner desires.
learn how the apartment works
February 17, 2016

INTERVIEW: Micro-Housing Architect Michael Chen Shares His Thoughts on the Tiny Trend

It's hard to flip through the home and garden television channels these days without seeing a program about tiny homes. But the trend has been gaining momentum for years, long before it made its way onto our TV screens. One of the creative forces behind this revolution is Michael Chen, firm principal of Michael K. Chen Architecture. With design offices in New York and San Francisco and 14 years of experience, Michael is considered a pioneer of innovative micro-housing. Not only does he share his "love of tinkering, of drawing, of discourse, and of making" with his clients, but he teaches at Pratt Institute School of Architecture in Brooklyn. Having recently finished the 5:1 Apartment–a compact, 390-square-foot space that fits all the functional and spatial elements for living, working, sleeping, dressing, entertaining, cooking, dining, and bathing–MKCA is taking the design world by storm with their thoughtful approach and clever product design. 6sqft decided to pick Michael's brain on just how he packs so much into such small footprints, where he thinks the micro-housing movement is headed, and the secrets behind some of his most spectacular spaces.
The interview, this way